MOSCOW – Shamil Abdurakhimov was happy to get a win against a former champion, even if it didn’t fully go the way he wanted.

Abdurakhimov (19-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) took a unanimous decision against Andrei Arlovski (27-17 MMA, 16-11 UFC) in their heavyweight bout on the UFC Fight Night 136 main card Saturday night at Olympic Stadium in Moscow. It was the UFC’s debut event in Russia. The entire card streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

“I was really hopeful I could finish the fight in the first round, but it didn’t happen,” Abdurakhimov told MMAjunkie through a translator after the fight. “I wasn’t nervous. I felt really great. But when you can’t do everything you planned, it’s a lot of pressure.”

Abdurakhimov seemed hesitant to go to the ground with Arlovski early in the fight. Truth be told, later in the fight it was the first time all night – in the event’s 10th fight – that the fans in Moscow could be heard booing.

“I wanted to make him come to me and exchange,” he said. “I was hoping for a knockout, but it didn’t happen.”

Abdurakhimov now has wins in four of his past five, though. His lone loss came in his first UFC main event at UFC Fight Night 102 against Derrick Lewis – a fourth-round TKO. His wins have been solid: Anthony Hamilton, Walt Harris, Chase Sherman and now Arlovski.

So next time out, he’s hoping for someone higher up the ladder – and then expects to deliver a performance of note.

“Next time, just give me someone from the top six or top seven,” Abdurakhimov said. “I’ll be ready my next fight. You’ll see I can do even more – I’ll prove it to you.”

Check out the full post-fight interview with Abdurakhimov in the video above.

And for complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 136, check out the UFC Events section of the site.