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Nigeria's Chidi Njokuani continues to struggle in UFC with another loss to Albert Duraev
American professional mixed martial artist of Nigerian descent Chidi Godson Njokuani suffered a loss on his return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the early hours of Sunday, March 26, 2023.
The 34-year-old in three rounds of action lost returns to the Octagon against Russian mixed martial artist Albert Duraev.
Njokuani was the betting favorite against Duraev returning for the first time since June 2022 where he scored a stoppage victory over Joaquin Buckley.
Chidi Njokuani loses to Albert Duraev
Njokuani targeted a bounce-back victory after a knockout loss last September to Gregory Rodrigues.
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Njokuani started the fight with a front kick as Duraev responded with a right-hand shot.
Duraev caught a kick by Njokuani and following a scramble was able to score a takedown.
Nothing significant landed for the rest of the round as Njokuani adopted a cautious approach.
In round two, Duraev started working some short punches as Njokuani responded to trading leather early.
Despite being taken down in round one, Njokuani continued to throw kicks. Both fighters in the pocket were able to exchange good shots.
Njokuani countered with a right-hand swing anytime Duraev pressed the action forward.
Njokuani was able to wobble his Russian opponent with a straight right as the round came to an end.
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In the final round, Duraev almost went down with a huge kick to the body.
Duraev was relentless in his pursuit shooting for a double-leg takedown. They were both able to land strong right hands going for the killer shot.
Njokuani is trying to win the round but was caught with a low kick following a left cross as the fight at the AT&T Center home of the NBA franchise the San Antonio Spurs in Texas came to an end.
Chris Lee scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Njokuani while Sal D'Amato and Dan Miragliotta scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Duraev.
On the judges' scorecard, Njokuani suffered a split decision loss to Duraev.
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10:07 - 25.03.2023
UFC Chidi Njokuani set for Middleweight battle against Albert Duraev
Chidi Njokuani targets contender status with victory against Albert Duraev.
Duraev on victory against Njokuani
Speaking after victory against Njokuani in the Octagon, Duraev was full of praise for his team.
He said, "I want to say thank you so much, my coach.
"My brother, my coach Rebecca, thank you so much, thank you so much I'm very happy today."
Njokuani targeted a contender status in the UFC middleweight division dominated by New Zealand professional mixed martial artist of Nigerian descent Israel Adesanya and reigning champion from Brazil Alexsandro Pereira.
Following back-to-back defeats against Rodrigues and Duraev, Njokuani takes a step back to contend in the UFC Middleweight division.
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