With an impressive record backing him, Makmud Muradov will make his debut at UFC Copenhagen this weekend.
The UFC will make its debut in Copenhagen, Denmark on September 28 at the Royal Arena. The card is now finalized with middleweight contenders doing battle in the main event. There, Jack Hermansson will take on Jared Cannonier. Elsewhere on the card, Alessio Di Chirico was supposed to take on Peter Sobotta in another middleweight bout. However, Sobotta was forced out of his bout with Di Chirico and now Makhmud Muradov will take this fight on short notice.
6’2″
Middleweight
29-years-old
Prague, Czech Republic
Monster Gym
22-6
15 KO/TKO
3 Submissions (Guillotine, Ezekiel Choke, Rear-naked Choke)
How will Muradov fare in the UFC:
Muradov is a solid prospect who has only lost one fight in the last five years and later avenged that loss. Many times you see the UFC sign guys not ready and too young. That isn’t the case here. Muradov though has tons of experience with solid wins including over some former UFC veterans.
With only three submissions don’t discredit his ground game. His ground and pound is solid where if he gets any space he will land a barrage of punches. His wrestling has proved to be a valuable weapon in his back pocket. Muradov has good timing and speed on his level changes and does a great job clasping his hands together and getting the takedown.
Muradov does need some work on his jiu-jitsu when it comes to transitions and position control. On the feet is where he does his best work mainly with his athleticism alone. The Uzbekistan native will stay at range staying diverse but technical. He has a straight lead job that he often throws at the body. He does a really good mixing in strikes and kicks and his speed is a big dividend. Watching Muradov you will notice he loves to throw the flying knee that he’s landed many times throughout his career. In other aspects, he has solid cardio, excellent takedown defense, and is a good counter striker. Prediction: 4-0 start in the UFC.
- Striking: B-
- Kickboxing: C+
- Clinch: C
- Wrestling: B-
- Grappling: C-
- Striking Defense: A-
- Takedown Defense: B
- Cardio: A
- Biggest Strength: Athleticism
- Biggest Weakness: Ground game
How Muradov matches up with Chirico:
Chirico has some good wins and some bad wins, and you might consider him a mid-tier fighter. Chirico has an advantage on the mat as his jiu-jitsu is much better. However he’s not that dangerous on the mat and his takedown percentage is only around 50%. Chirico has decent striking but Muradov is just way more explosive and much faster. Muradov should be able to stop the takedowns given he has against guys on the same level as Chirico. UFC experience does play a factor for Chirico but he’s really never developed in his six UFC fights. The pick is Muradov.
