To Azamat Murzakanova 11 wins in 11 MMA fights. Only one fight resulted in a decision. For a long time he was known as one of the most powerful hand-to-hand fighters in Russia, but now he is testing himself in the most serious MMA organization. Here’s what you need to know about it.
1. Took the bonus in the first battle
In his UFC debut, Murzakanov knocked out Tafon Nchukvi with a knee strike and was immediately awarded a $50,000 bonus.
“At first, I was surprised that they paid me such a sum, but then I took it normally. Besides, I haven’t touched the money yet! Now, due to these political times, it has become a bit more difficult to transfer money, here in America, I opened an account, and I have them here for the time being. Before this fight, I don’t think about the second bonus. So be it. I will try, but not because of the bonus,” Murzakanov tells .
2. Took a very important photo on March 12
Due to the complication of the global political situation, the UFC does not recommend that fighters use national flags at public events. And at the beginning of spring there was talk that Russian flags could in principle be banned. Murzakanov fought on March 12 and covered his shoulders with a tricolor for a post-fight photo op. The photo appeared in the Getty Images bank, and after this photo, the debate about whether or not to be photographed in the UFC with the Russian flag is officially over.
3. Only twice didn’t end the fight earlier than expected
Murzakanov was engaged in boxing for quite a long time, until he switched to hand-to-hand combat, where he won almost everything possible. Now, from his fights, it is easy to understand what the opponents must be afraid of. Of his 11 victories, one was won by submission (by the way, by a rather rare and strange technique – wringing his neck; there is no video). Two more – by court decisions. Murzakanov explains his first full fight by the fact that he had to carry a lot of weight.
4. Could weigh almost 120 kg
With a height of 180 cm, Murzakanov performs in the category up to 93 kg. After the fight in the Dana White promotion, he was predictably asked about the move to 84kg. But the fighter himself says that at some point in his career his weight reached 120 kg.
– Yes, at one time I weighed almost 120 kg. I had an injury and I didn’t train. Now between fights 103-104 kg. And this time I started cleaning ahead of time, so now (three days before the weigh-in) I only have three kilos left.
5. They wanted to do a fight with Kimbo Slice
If you were born closer to the year 2000 this will be difficult to figure out, so we hope you are lucky with your date of birth. Kimbo Slice is one of the main street fight stars, whose videos have been streamed via Bluetooth. The fighter died in the summer of 2016. Russian promoter Vladimir Khryunov immediately announced that he was working on the fight between Slice and Murzakanov, and this could be seen as an attempt to use big news related to the death of a fighter. But Murzakanov confirms that work on this fight was in progress.
– It was true. At one point when I played a lot of army melee, not only with Kimbo but also with other top American fighters, they wanted to do such fights. I remember they were looking for good weights and then they brought in Ricco Rodriguez (former UFC champ). And that’s true for Kimbo. They told me they wanted to fight us. I remember the videos with him, I knew them, and then it was interesting for me to fight with him according to the rules of hand-to-hand combat.
6. Fought a UFC fighter in hand-to-hand combat
Under the rules of hand-to-hand combat, Murzakanov fought against current UFC light heavyweight Ion Kutselaba (16-7 in MMA). Kutselaba missed a lot and gave the spectators who came that day a brilliant victory for Murzakanov.
7. Failed a doping test, but was able to come back
Murzakanov signed his first contract with the UFC in 2017, but the Russian’s first sample found traces of meldonium and, worse, boldenone. Before that, Russians failed doping tests Konstantin Erokhin and Ivan Shtyrkov (also boldenone). The two could never fight in the UFC, but Murzakanov could, despite serving a two-year suspension.
– We then hired a lawyer, and the process took almost a year and a half. Everything dragged on for a very long time. It didn’t happen right away that we were told: “That’s it, disqualification for two years.” But it slowly dragged on. And when a year and a half had already passed, when they had already announced this disqualification, there was still a little before the end of the term. We hired a lawyer because when we signed a contract with the UFC after DIA, I listed the drugs I was using. He indicated that he used meldonium. I didn’t know about the second drug and I don’t know how it ended up in the sample. I have nothing to hide.
[Про вскрытие пробы “Б”] Seems to me they test a little differently here, they didn’t take a “B” sample from me, they just tested it twice. This is the result of the first test. After the disqualification, I was told that I would return as soon as two years were up. Two years passed, they said the downtime was too long and better have a fight somewhere. Then the coronavirus, and everything dragged on like that. And so I’ve always been in contact with the UFC.
Now Azamat says he’s one of the most tested fighters in the league: “USADA has already checked 17 or 18 times.” A site with test statistics writes that Azamat has been checked six times since signing.
8. Won a unique belt
After the disqualification, Murzakanov fought two fights in the Brave league in one evening – November 15, 2019. That is, in fact, from April 2017 to August 2021 the fighter had one day of training competitive in MMA. Brave’s speech ended with the fact that they wrote about Azamat: “The owner of the most expensive belt in the world.” The league has made for the winner of the tournament an expensive and very heavy champion belt, which has a secret:
– Yes, this belt is kept at my house, it is big and heavy, but then they gave me a replica. To have a real one, you had to defend it by winning the Grand Prix again. And I had no protection, because I immediately signed up for the UFC. So I have a belt – a copy.
9. In his corner is the man who met Khabib in the USA
The owner of the K Dojo in New Jersey, Murat Keshtov, was one of the conductors of the Russians in the UFC. In 2012, he was the one who met Khabib in the United States when Nurmagomedov flew out for his first UFC fight. Now Keshtov does not actively accompany professional fighters, but he works with Murzakanov and will be in his corner in the next fight.
10 Fighting Jon Jones’ Training Partner
Statistics show that “sparring partner of a legend” is not always an important title. But the fact remains that Murzakanov’s future opponent, Devin Clark (13-6), is a solid UFC middleweight and a former sparring partner to Jon Jones of the Albuquerque gym.
– I only know that he trains in this gym. And if they train with Jones, I haven’t heard of it.
New champion (Jiri Prochazka)? To be honest, we are monitoring it. Ankalaev is close to the title, I think Prokhazka is a comfortable fighter for him. I think he can take it with a fight, and he won’t back down from a standing position. But, probably, Magomed will not be released for the title now, but he will be told to fight with someone else.
– And how would you fight Prochazka?
– If for the belt, I would fight him like the last time in my life.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
