Makhmud Muradov looked to rebound from his first two UFC losses when he took on Bryan Barbarena, who was moving up in weight to middleweight, at UFC London.
The Uzbek fighter Muradov, famously the only UFC fighter signed to Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather’s management team, had stormed out to a three-fight winning streak in the UFC before running into Gerald Meerschaert and Caio Borralho. Meanwhile “Bam Bam” Barbarena, a seventeen-fight UFC veteran, had spent his run with the company almost entirely at welterweight.
Bryan came in with a two-fight losing streak and two-inch height disadvantage but would look to use his pace and volume, always his gameplan, to overwhelm Muradov. His last loss was at the last UFC event in London, a submission loss against grappling specialist Gunnar Nelson. Muradov clearly had studied that fight as he tried to use his wrestling, an infrequent tool of his, in this fight.
Barbarena and his infamous hair came out southpaw and pressing forward from the opening bell. Muradov started with an open side body kick from his orthodox stance, which landed on the belly of Barbarena, which looked bigger than usual with the weight class move. Muradov shot on a single leg and transitioned to a double leg; he was able to get Barbarena down but Barbarena got back up. Muradov held on in the clinch and dragged ‘Bam Bam’ down again. Barbarena gave up his back in order to attempt to stand up but did not let Muradov get his hooks in. He turned to face Makhmud again and Muradov laced up the legs and looked to advance to an awkward mount position against the fence but Barbarena stood back up.
The two traded punches on the break. Muradov was evasive on the feet, trying to stick and move against the aggressive Barbarena. His length was useful in this as he landed some decent right hands. A particularly big right hand let him level change and land a clean double leg. Barbarena immediately butt-scooted to the fence and used it to wall-walk up to his feet. Barbarena ate a flying knee at the end of the first round but landed a body shot before the bell.
Barbarena clearly dropped the first round and needed to make it up in the second but Muradov struck first with a big right hand thirty seconds in. One minute in he landed a monster 1-2 combination which sent Barbarena flying face-first to the canvas. Bryan stayed conscious and fought his way back to the feet. The confidence and pace of Muradov increased after that, but he still used evasive footwork so he would not burn out his cardio in the later stages of the fight. The two fighters traded words as Barbarena returned and marched forward to land hooks against the fence, but Muradov broke off and potshotted Bryan again from range. His pinpoint accuracy kept him in the lead and controlling the momentum.
With two minutes left in the round Muradov shot in for a double leg and got Barbarena to his butt. Once again Barbarena was able to wall-walk to his feet but Muradov mat returned him a few times. With thirty seconds left a clash of heads opened a cut on the forehead of Barbarena, pausing the fight. But the ever-tough ‘Bam Bam’ did not take any time before resuming back in half-guard. He once again wall-walked and was once again mat returned, right before the bell.
Barbarena clearly needed a finish when the final round started but Muradov remained as elusive as ever. A right hand from Muradov sent Barbarena flying early on, though he was perhaps just caught off balance. The Uzbek fighter used that to get the rear body-lock but Barbarena broke free. Muradov then began an assault against the fence and attempted a takedown which was stuffed. Barbarena tried to press forward again but got caught by a right hand which sat him down and then a body kick which clearly hurt. Muradov landed a flying knee but Barbarena was undeterred and kept pressing forward relentlessly.
More straights and an uppercut landed from Muradov in the final ninety seconds of the fight. He stayed on the retreat until Barbarena attempted a takedown at the same time as Muradov, leading to a violent clash of heads which hurt both men badly. The fight resumed with one minute left in the round. Barbarena chased down Muradov again until the Uzbek landed yet another takedown. However Bryan stood right back up and pressed forward, only to get taken down again right before the bell.
The decision was not really in doubt as Bruce Buffer read the scorecards, announcing that all three judges scored it 30-27.
Official Result: Makhmud Muradov def. Bryan Barbarena by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
