The road to the title of Magomedsharipov, the return of Volkov and the debut of brother Nurmagomedov: what makes the UFC tournament in Moscow interesting

Perspectives of Magomedsharipov

Initially, the Russian featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov was supposed to participate in the second most important match of the evening, however, due to an injury to Junior dos Santos, he ended up in the main fight of UFC Fight Night 163: Moscow. In this regard, both expectations from his meeting with Calvin Kattar and pressure on the athlete have seriously increased. In just a few days, he became the face of the Moscow tournament and was virtually deprived of the right to make a mistake, since a defeat can seriously hit not only his prospects in the UFC, but also his popularity at home.

On the whole, the battle with Kattar was of crucial importance for Magomedsharipov. After the not-so-brightest victory over Jeremy Stevens, many could doubt his strength. Even then, a beautiful triumph could make him the main contender for the featherweight title, but instead, Zabit got into the opponents of the top 15 athlete.

That fight showed that Magomedsharipov is not yet able to dominate skilled craftsmen. With rivals noticeably lower class, he looks impressive, but this is clearly not enough to become a champion. Especially considering the confidence with which Max Holloway is cracking down on applicants.

However, Zabit is still one or two steps away from the belt race, and Kattar’s style may help draw attention to the battle. The American loves to go forward and do not mind getting into the wheelhouse, which is only in the hands of the Russian. Magomedsharipov is more skillful and technical, which may well become a key factor. At the same time, do not underestimate his skills in the stalls, which can help him succeed through surrendering an opponent.

It is worth noting that initially the duel between the athletes was supposed to take place at the tournament in Boston on October 19, but due to an injury, Magomedsharipov was transferred to Moscow. This is all the more remarkable because Cattar, as a native of Massachusetts, actually had to fight at home. Instead, Zabit got this opportunity.

At the moment, only one person can prevent the next Russian from getting the right to fight for the title. Given the defeats of Brian Ortega and Jose Aldo, as well as the transition of Frankie Edgar to the lightest weight, only Yair Rodriguez is a full-fledged participant in the championship race. Now he has a series of two victories in his asset, the latter being won over the same Stevens and called the “Fight of the evening”.

The fact that the matchmakers had already tried to bring Magomedsharipov and Rodriguez to each other speaks for holding this duel. The fight was planned for the UFC 228 tournament, but was canceled due to a Mexican injury. Knowing the organization’s love for high-profile posters and stories of confrontations, it is possible that this particular battle will become a kind of eliminator (a fight for the status of a contender for the title) in lightweight.

Volkov's return to the championship race

The UFC Fight Night tournament in Moscow was supposed to be a moment of truth for Alexander Volkov. In the case of victory over dos Santos, he could rehabilitate for his insulting defeat from Derrick Lewis and break into the champion race, and failure could seriously shake the faith in him from the promotion. But the Brazilian’s injury and his subsequent replacement with Greg Hardy practically deprived Alexander of all possible dividends, but he raised the risks. After all, it is one thing to cede to the ex-champion, and another to yesterday's debutant of MMA.

Performing at a home show promised to be exciting for a Russian for several reasons at once. Firstly, due to an unsuccessful performance in the last fight, which cost him the status of the first applicant for the title. Secondly, due to a long downtime, which at the time of the tournament was 13 months. After such a break, a certain constriction and uncertainty in actions can not be felt, which was repeatedly confirmed by much more famous athletes. It is enough to recall the battle of John Jones with Ovins Saint-Prue or the battle of Conor McGregor with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Perhaps the UFC took this fact into account when they gave Hardy rivals to Volkov. An inexperienced American can help him triumphantly return to the octagon, again feel self-confidence and only then continue to make his way to the top of the division. A duel with Francis Ngannu would be not only much louder, but also difficult for the Russian. Cameroon has long been considered one of the most serious opponents in this category, and with leaps and bounds is approaching a rematch with Stipe Miocic.

Nevertheless, the upcoming battle carries many risks for the Russians. Firstly, this is due to the knockout power of Hardy, who won all five victories in the first round. Despite the lack of experience, he is very dangerous and may well give Volkov a surprise, as Lewis did. Then Alexander confidently controlled the course of the match and with a high degree of probability would have won on points, but was on the floor 11 seconds before the bell.

Secondly, Hardy has already managed to show what he sometimes prefers to do before thinking. At a tournament in Boston, he used an inhaler in between rounds, which led to the cancellation of the result of the battle. Judging by the reports of the UFC management, in Moscow this will not happen again, but one should not exclude that the shocking American will be noted in another way. It is enough to recall that he suffered his only defeat in his career due to disqualification for a forbidden blow to a lying enemy.

Second chance of Imadayev

At a tournament in Moscow, his second UFC fight will be held by promising welterweight Zelim Imadayev. In the first, he was defeated by Max Griffin, but was more likely to be remembered for his antics outside the octagon. So, a Russian allegedly tried twice to attack an American in a tribune room, as a result of which he had to turn to the police for help. True, he himself denied the statements of the vis-a-vis, calling them a lie.

The promotion decided to give him another chance and organized a fight in Moscow. The opponent of Zelim was Danny Roberts, who lost the last two matches. It's no secret that the UFC very often fires fighters after two defeats in a row, so this evening will be of great importance to the Briton. But given the above scandal, Imadayev also should not relax, because failure can put an end to his career in the Absolute Fighting Championship.

Despite a track record of 16 wins and five defeats, Roberts has vast experience, as he has been with the UFC for the past four years. Moreover, his “victims” included exclusively middle-aged athletes and jornimen like Nathan Coy, while in battles with serious opponents he was regularly beaten. Among his offenders are Mike Perry, Nordin Taleb and Michel Pereira.

There is no doubt that Imadayev has the strength to deal with Roberts, but the main question is whether he can do without incidents and focus exclusively on the fight itself. The UFC does not particularly stand on ceremony with novice fighters and is unlikely to suffer another scandal involving Zelim.

The first Russian confrontation

The tournament in Moscow is also notable for the first ever UFC battle between fighters from Russia. So, as part of the preliminary card, the octagon will include promotion veteran Rustam Khabilov and Sergey Khandozhko, for whom this fight will be the second in the Absolute Fighting Championship.

Until now, the Russians preferred not to meet each other in the octagon and preferred to sort things out with representatives of other countries. Therefore, it is not surprising that Khandozhko’s decision to take the fight with Khabilov caused a real storm in social networks. As Sergei himself said, he received a lot of insults from the fans. Moreover, he himself believes that the country will soon realize that there is nothing wrong with this practice.

The fight itself is noteworthy at least for the fact that it will be the debut for Khabilov in the welterweight at the UFC. Until now, he has performed in the lightweight division for six years, where he has made good progress. In 12 fights, he won nine victories, and in 2013 he prevailed over the current promotion star Jorge Masvidal.

Thanks to this, Khabilov can be safely considered a favorite, even despite the defeat from Carlos Diego Ferreira in the last battle. Khanozhko is a much less sophisticated athlete, and his problems with the fight can serve him poorly. So, Rustam on average performs 3.4 takedowns in three rounds, which can decide the fate of the battle.

The debut of brother Nurmagomedov

Another important event of the Moscow tournament will be the first duel of Abubakar Nurmagomedov in the Absolute Fighting Championship. The arrival of Habib’s double brother in the promotion has been discussed for a long time, but his prospects were affected by the suspension imposed by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NSAC) following the UFC 229. So, after the main battle, he attacked Conor McGregor together with Tukhugov, for which he was suspended for 12 months. Subsequently, the deadline was reduced, which allowed Zubair to perform in Abu Dhabi. A relative of the lightweight champion could also be there, but he was prevented by an injury.

In his first fight, Abubakar will clash with a candidate for dismissal by David Zavada. The German goes on a series of two defeats and may soon leave the largest MMA promotion on the planet. Nurmagomedov may well contribute to this, if marked by a confident and bright victory.

In addition, in favor of the Russians say serious health problems in the counterpart. As the German himself admitted, he stands with one kidney. This is reminiscent of the situation of Donald Cerrone, experiencing problems with the liver, as well as having to remove part of the intestines and stomach. Such circumstances make the athlete more susceptible to attacks on the body.

However, Abubakar is likely to bet on his wrestling skills. He prefers to transfer opponents to the ground, after which he either tries to hold a strangulation, or stakes on ground and pound (striking a lying opponent). In anticipation of this tournament, Zavada’s assets include 75% protection against takedowns, but he had not previously met with Nurmagomedov’s wrestlers. If a Russian can pick up the keys to the German defense, he will have practically no chance of success.