Six months later, Ivanov turned around and fought Augusto Sakai at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs Burns but fell short once again, this time feeling cheated from another victory due to illegal fence grabs from his opponent.
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“I think, with Derrick Lewis, it was a really close fight,” Ivanov said. “Statistically I won, but the judges decided it was no good. With Augusto, it was the same. He grabbed the cage like two times I think, but this is in the past and I’m just looking forward to my next opponent.”
The last time fans saw him compete in the Octagon, Ivanov earned a decisive victory over UFC veteran Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC 274: Oliveira vs Gaethje. Despite hoping to compete sooner, Ivanov was sidelined with an injury after the fight, and has used the last seven months to return back to 100 percent.
