Steven Nguyen was in the second UFC on ABC 9 prelim Saturday in Abu Dhabi, but the fight ended up as one of the main talking points among viewers.
It was a historic night for Nguyen (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and a controversial one for referee Jason Herzog.
Nguyen knocked opponent Muhammad Yahya down a record-breaking six times in the bout, which only lasted a total of 10 minutes.
“Honestly, I felt like it was a triple bonus,” Nguyen told MMA Junkie on Monday. “I got my first UFC win, which was most important. I made history, No. 2. And I got a bonus, as well, No. 3. It was like a triple bonus. It feels amazing. I feel amazing. I feel on top of the world right now. At the same time, it just makes me more hungry.”
Nguyen, like many who watched the fight, was wowed by Yahya’s toughness. Even when his left eye inflated to the relative size of a softball, Yahya (12-6 MMA, 0-3 UFC) asked to keep going – but the doctor said no and the bout was waved off.
“It was a little bit frustrating honestly,” Nguyen said. “The first few knockdowns, it was like, ‘OK, I know I secured the first round because I knocked him down.’ Toward the second round, I kept knocking him down like, ‘How is this guy still here?’ I gassed myself trying to finish him so many times to where that very last knockdown, I just kind of hovered over him. I was just so tired. I was like, ‘I’m just going to try to take this as a breather. Instead of unleashing punches on him, let me take a little breather.’ I was so gassed.”
Making history
It’s not every day a fighter picks up his first UFC win – and makes history. He had no idea he set a new UFC record until Michael Bisping notified him in the post-fight interview.
Nguyen still glowed about the feats he achieved days later and praised Yahya’s heart and refusal to quit.
“It takes two to tango and Muhammad didn’t want to give up,” Nguyen said. “Even after that eye was messed up, I remember shaking his hand right before the decision was called. He was like, ‘I wanted to keep going.’ So props to him for being that warrior – just nonstop. He wanted to keep fighting. Obviously, he wanted that win so bad, saying that to me. We were both trying to get our very first wins in the UFC. It’s his home town and he had a lot of pressure. He wanted it real bad. Like I said, it takes two to make it happen. When Michael Bisping told me about it, he was the first person to tell me. My natural reaction was, ‘This is f*cking amazing.’ He’s like, ‘How do you feel about that?’ I’m like, ‘F*cking amazing.’ It’s like it’s hit me, but I’ve just been in Dubai on vacation mode. It’s really crazy to me to think I did that. It’s more than just completing my dream. It’s wild.”
Jason Herzog’s stoppage
Contributing to the historic moment was Herzog’s threshold of allowance for Yahya to be knocked down so many times over the span of the 10-minute bout. The decision not to stop the fight until the doctor intervened was criticized by many pundits and commentators, including UFC lead play-by-play man Jon Anik.
Nguyen had as close of a look as anyone but was hyper-focused on the task of finishing the fight. Having gone back and watched it, Nguyen is a bit surprised it was not stopped sooner – particularly after seeing Yahya’s grotesque eye injury.
“I didn’t actually see his eye (injury) until after the fight,” Nguyen said. “I was pretty locked in. I knew I did damage on him. But when I saw him after I was like, ‘Oh sh*t, I did that?’ There are a few times where I hit him and knocked him down. There was one time where his leg bent backward. I put my hands up like, ‘This has to be a walkaway KO.’ But nothing happened. Jason didn’t stop it. I was like, ‘OK, I have to finish him now.’ I was definitely surprised but at the end of the day I’m just going to do what I have to do to win the fight. I wasn’t thinking about it too much. But after watching the fight, there could’ve been a few times where the fight could’ve been stopped. But obviously at that time, I wasn’t thinking about it.”
What’s next?
Nguyen, 32, has been crafting his game at Fortis MMA under coach Sayif Saud in Dallas for a few years now. Despite his advancements in the gym, Nguyen has had seldom opportunities to show them.
Since he signed with the UFC in September 2023, Nguyen has only competed twice in the organization. Nguyen just tacks up the inactivity to circumstance, but hopes now that he has a little hype surrounding his name, more fight offers will start to come through.
Nguyen plans to visit Vietnam soon and has a couple of bumps and bruises to heal, but is eager to get another fight in 2025.
“I definitely want to ride this momentum, this wave that’s starting to happen right now,” Nguyen said. “I have a few little bumps and bruises right now but nothing major. As soon as I’m recovered, I’m going to be talking to my manager Jason House pretty soon when I get back to the states. We’re going to come up with a good game plan. I definitely don’t want to wait another year or 14 or 16 months. Definitely not that. I’m going to get back in the gym, get better, talk to my manager and we’re going to figure out a good game plan. I definitely, definitely want to keep riding this momentum, man.”
