Is there a new wave of Kazakhs coming to the UFC in 2023?

[HuskySamoan]

Everyone knows Shavkat Rakhmonov is the uncrowned pound for pound king of MMA and a proud Kazakh, unfortunately Damir Ismagulov retired and while we have a couple others currently in the UFC like Morozov and Zhalgas Zhumagulov but there's 4 standout Kazakh's all young, impressive and beating on the UFC's door for their contract I'd like to share with you.

1. Asu Almabaev 17-2 (13 fight win streak), 28 years old training out of Dar Pro Team alongside Shavkat Rakhmonov and American Top Team. Asu is widely considered one of the best Flyweights in the world outside the UFC. Asu is managed by Sayat Abdrakhmanov who is the manager of basically every Kazakh in the UFC, other central Asians and many Russian fighters too (Fiziev, Damir, Shavkat, Petr Yan etc) so I'm hopeful Asu will be signed.

2. Magomed Kabardiev 9-0, 27 years old fighting out of Akhmat Fight Club in Kazakhstan, Kabardiev also signed with Sayat Abdrakhmanov and is currently trying to get signed to the UFC. Kabardiev is the Naiza Lightweight champion and one of the best Lightweight prospects in the world. He has won a lot of different grappling, Pankration and Sanda tournaments, he's one of those guys who seems very next level talent wise compared to most. An absolutely massive Lightweight at 6ft too.

3. Azat Maksum 15-0, 27 years old fighting out of DDV Team in Almaty Kazakhstan, when the best Flyweights outside the UFC come to mind after Mighty Mouse and Kyoji Horiguchi it's always Asu and Azat that come to mind. Azat is a big 5'8 flyweight with knockout power and strong wrestling. Currently fighting for the Kazakh promotion Octagon as their champion, Azat has also been knocking on the UFC's door trying to get his conctract. I don't believe he's signed with Sayat but hopefully he will if he finds it difficult to sign to the UFC otherwise, the right managers seem to have huge pull in getting fighters signed. He's been asking for a fight with Muhammad Mokaev,

4. Bekzat Almakhan 14-1, 25 years old fighting out of DDV Team alongside his teammate Azat, Bekzat is the Bantamweight champion in the Kazakh promotion Octagon. Bekzat also I am unsure if he is signed with Sayat or not but he posts a lot about trying to get signed to the UFC. With the amount of (T)KO finishes he has I'm sure it's just a matter of time, similarly a very heavy handed Kazakh like his teammate with great wrestling, especially his fast level changes into shots and scrambling. His single loss was to one of the more talented Kazakh's when Bekzat was only 22 in a competitive fight where he won the first round vs now 18-2 Sultan Zholdohsbek.




We've got a week left before any UFC, thought I'd do a showcase of coming talent from Central Asia trying to make their way to the UFC similar to how I did with the 4 standout D1 wrestlers coming up on the US regional scene right now a week or two ago. These guys are all exciting and deserve some love and attention, I look forward to revisiting this thread and seeing that all of these men have been signed hopefully this year. Kazakhstan may not have the biggest population but when you consider Dagestan is less than 4 million, perhaps 19+million Kazakhs begins to sound more significant. It is a country that stands out in Boxing, Sambo and Freestyle wrestling on the world stage regularly and all of these fighters I've listed you can catch training with Kazakh Sambo teams, Boxing teams and Wrestling teams, even sometimes going to Kyrgyzstan to train too. Kazakhstan is a country that's begun to embrace MMA in a big way, top flight gyms and regional promotions have been opening up and we are beginning to see some of their best talent rise to the UFC and I think this generation will not disappoint.

 

[kingmob6]

You could do a similar write up probably for all of the Caucasus nations, the 7-10th best guys there can compete in UFC.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Nah, there should be but it won't happen. Maybe 1or 2 will get signed this year.

I'd also add Firuza Sharipova, Dauren Ermekov, Diyar Nurgozhay and Alibi Idiris as possible but still probably not.

Maybe Firuza as she was a world champion boxer.

 

[HuskySamoan]

 

[Get To Da Choppa]

Is there a new wave of Kazakhs coming to the UFC in 2023?

Very nice!

 

[Feniamin]

Nah, there should be but it won't happen. Maybe 1or 2 will get signed this year.

I'd also add Firuza Sharipova, Dauren Ermekov, Diyar Nurgozhay and Alibi Idiris as possible but still probably not.

Maybe Firuza as she was a world champion boxer.

I think I've seen Sharipova said that she is interested in rematch in boxing with Katie Taylor and mma as a goal goes after this rematch.
In terms of signing if this was true about UFC being interested in Takhtay (and him continuing mma career) I guess it might be him, Sora since she is a sister of Shavkat.

 

[Dirty Frank]

Everyone knows Shavkat Rakhmonov is the uncrowned pound for pound king of MMA and a proud Kazakh, unfortunately Damir Ismagulov retired and while we have a couple others currently in the UFC like Morozov and Zhalgas Zhumagulov but there's 4 standout Kazakh's all young, impressive and beating on the UFC's door for their contract I'd like to share with you.

1. Asu Almabaev 17-2 (13 fight win streak), 28 years old training out of Dar Pro Team alongside Shavkat Rakhmonov and American Top Team. Asu is widely considered one of the best Flyweights in the world outside the UFC. Asu is managed by Sayat Abdrakhmanov who is the manager of basically every Kazakh in the UFC, other central Asians and many Russian fighters too (Fiziev, Damir, Shavkat, Petr Yan etc) so I'm hopeful Asu will be signed.

2. Magomed Kabardiev 9-0, 27 years old fighting out of Akhmat Fight Club in Kazakhstan, Kabardiev also signed with Sayat Abdrakhmanov and is currently trying to get signed to the UFC. Kabardiev is the Naiza Lightweight champion and one of the best Lightweight prospects in the world. He has won a lot of different grappling, Pankration and Sanda tournaments, he's one of those guys who seems very next level talent wise compared to most. An absolutely massive Lightweight at 6ft too.

3. Azat Maksum 15-0, 27 years old fighting out of DDV Team in Almaty Kazakhstan, when the best Flyweights outside the UFC come to mind after Mighty Mouse and Kyoji Horiguchi it's always Asu and Azat that come to mind. Azat is a big 5'8 flyweight with knockout power and strong wrestling. Currently fighting for the Kazakh promotion Octagon as their champion, Azat has also been knocking on the UFC's door trying to get his conctract. I don't believe he's signed with Sayat but hopefully he will if he finds it difficult to sign to the UFC otherwise, the right managers seem to have huge pull in getting fighters signed. He's been asking for a fight with Muhammad Mokaev,

4. Bekzat Almakhan 14-1, 25 years old fighting out of DDV Team alongside his teammate Azat, Bekzat is the Bantamweight champion in the Kazakh promotion Octagon. Bekzat also I am unsure if he is signed with Sayat or not but he posts a lot about trying to get signed to the UFC. With the amount of (T)KO finishes he has I'm sure it's just a matter of time, similarly a very heavy handed Kazakh like his teammate with great wrestling, especially his fast level chages into shots and scrambling. His single loss was to one of the more talented Kazakh's when Bekzat was only 22 in a competitive fight where he won the first round vs now 18-2 Sultan Zholdohsbek.




We've got a week left before any UFC, thought I'd do a showcase of coming talent from Central Asia trying to make their way to the UFC similar to how I did with the 4 standout D1 wrestlers coming up on the US regional scene right now a week or two ago. These guys are all exciting and deserve some love and attention, I look forward to revisiting this thread and seeing that all of these men have been signed hopefully this year. Kazakhstan may not have the biggest population but when you consider Dagestan is less than 4 million, perhaps 19+million Kazakhs begins to sound more significant. It is a country that stands out in Boxing, Sambo and Freestyle wrestling on the world stage regularly and all of these fighters I've listed you can catch training with Kazakh Sambo teams, Boxing teams and Wrestling teams, even sometimes going to Kyrgyzstan to train too. Kazakhstan is a country that's begun to embrace MMA in a big way, top flight gyms and regional promotions have been opening up and we are beginning to see some of their best talent rise to the UFC and I think this generation will not disappoint.

I doubt a country's population has anything to do with its talent pool being more significant. But a good, informative post.
This dude approves!

 

[Dirty Frank]

Very nice!

beat me to it!

 

[Ramil Kamilov]

Yea hopefully you see me there this year

 

[Feniamin]

Is there in English some distinction between Kazakh and Kazakhstani? Like, Ismagulov is ethnic Kazakh but I am pretty sure he is not citizen of Kazakhstan.
Kabardiev, from what I understand is Russian citizen of Avar and Kumyk descent.
Morozov, Sharipova and Takhtay are the citizens of Kazakhstan but one is Russian and Tatar, another is Uzbek and third is like a mix of 5 ethnicities.

 

[HuskySamoan]

Is there in English some distinction between Kazakh and Kazakhstani? Like, Ismagulov is ethnic Kazakh but I am pretty sure he is not citizen of Kazakhstan.
Kabardiev, from what I understand is Russian citizen of Avar and Kumyk descent.
Morozov, Sharipova and Takhtay are the citizens of Kazakhstan but one is Russian and Tatar, another is Uzbek and third is like a mix of 5 ethnicities.

They all represent Kazakhstan brother. Kabardiev carries the flag of Kazakhstan to the cage with him, lives in and trains out of Kazakhstan. He can be Kumyk and Avar by birth or heritage. Ethnic identity continously changes the further back you go in time, it is not some concrete thing but him training, living and representing Kazakhstan is.

 

[HuskySamoan]

Yea hopefully you see me there this year

I'm rooting for you now.

 

[markantony20]

TS is 100% from Central Asia. Homie has an encyclopaedic knowledge of fighters from that region.

Also came here expecting Borat jokes and I’m not disappointed.

 

[markantony20]

Yea hopefully you see me there this year

Is this your official Sherdog account or is this a gimmick account lol?

If it’s the official account you could talk to a mod/admin to get a pro fighter flair!

 

[HuskySamoan]

TS is 100% from Central Asia. Homie has an encyclopaedic knowledge of fighters from that region.

Also came here expecting Borat jokes and I’m not disappointed.

The crazy thing is I'm not. I follow(ed) Brazilian, English and American prospects this closely for years but you know what happens? They basically always get signed pretty early on by Bellator, The UFC, One, PFL/WSOF. Even when time goes by and I do my due dillegence and try to catch back up, it seems like every stand out prospect I see from these countries is basically already on the contender series, in the UFC or Bellator.

I care about talent and growth. There's as much if not more talent in Russia and Central Asia combined as there is in Brazil or the US, and we see like a fraction of it in these promotions. They tend to sign some of the best ones but certainly not all of them, or even most of them.

 

[Kwic]

Damn, didn't know that Damir retired. Unfortunate.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

I think I've seen Sharipova said that she is interested in rematch in boxing with Katie Taylor and mma as a goal goes after this rematch.
In terms of signing if this was true about UFC being interested in Takhtay (and him continuing mma career) I guess it might be him, Sora since she is a sister of Shavkat.

Yeah I'd love to see Takhtay in the UFC, he had a massive impact on me when I saw him in BRAVE, just the dude is so inactive it's difficult for me to trust him to sign.

 

[scytheavatar]

Why are there so many midget fighters in Kazakhstan? Why no more MW/LHW prospects?

 

[HuskySamoan]

Why are there is many midget fighters in Kazakhstan? Why no more MW/LHW prospects?

There's just very few MW and LHW prospects in the world, period....a MW is a man that's like 6ft-6'3 on average and weighs about 200-215lbs at sub 15% body fat. A LHW is someone who's 6'1-6'4 on averageband 215-230lbs with sub 15% body fat. There's Dauren Ermekov, he's legitatemately UFC level and worth signing. There's like maybe 15 blue chip Middleweights and probably less than 15 blue chip LHWs in the world able to be signed and several in each weight are already held up in divisions like One and Bellator (Malykhin, Eblen, Tokov, Nemkov, Rosta, Ridder etc).

 

[fortheo]

2. Magomed Kabardiev 9-0, 27 years old fighting out of Akhmat Fight Club in Kazakhstan, Kabardiev also signed with Sayat Abdrakhmanov and is currently trying to get signed to the UFC. Kabardiev is the Naiza Lightweight champion and one of the best Lightweight prospects in the world. He has won a lot of different grappling, Pankration and Sanda tournaments, he's one of those guys who seems very next level talent wise compared to most. An absolutely massive Lightweight at 6ft too.

That's one chad of a LW. Damn.