Heavyweight action on the UFC 266 preliminary card found Chris Daukaus in search of his fourth consecutive win in the UFC (and fifth overall) against the dangerous Shamil Abdurakhimov.
The latter had his three-fight win streak snapped in his last outing, against Curtis Blaydes — way back in 2019. Whether ring rust played a factor Saturday was just one question heading into the fight.
With the fight having been pushed back twice earlier this year, there might have been a bit of pent-up frustration in this one. Chris Daukuas displayed that perfectly, putting everything he had in an early uppercut that missed the mark. Abdurakhimov switched stances, countered well, then nearly took himself out of the fight with about 90 seconds left in the frame with a badly timed spinning attack — with Daukaus kicking his legs right out from under him.
Then, late in the round, Daukaus fired a left hook that dropped Abdurakhimov. Daukaus jumped into mount, raining down ground n’ pound, but Shamil Abdurakhimov was saved by the bell. Had it not been the end of the round, the fight might have ended seconds later.
In a wild start to the second round, Abdurakhimov appeared to motion for a glove touch, only for it to be slapped away by Daukaus, who followed up with a middle finger. He followed that up a bit later with a right hand, and Shamil went crashing to the canvas. The ref, for whatever reason, wanted to see more, forcing Daukaus to follow up with some ground n’ pound before it was stopped.
🎁 @ChrisDaukausMMA gave himself a KO victory for his birthday 🎂
[ #UFC266 | Live NOW on @ESPNPlus & ESPNews ] pic.twitter.com/1Z7R7MXxeL
— UFC (@ufc) September 26, 2021
Daukaus, already the #10 ranked heavyweight, is on quite a tear now. The 32-year old has four stoppages in his four UFC wins, and will be looking up the rankings for his next opponent.
Official Result: Chris Daukaus def. Shamil Abdurakhimov by TKO, Round 2, 1:23
