The UFC returns to Nashville, TN this Saturday for a Fight Night card headlined by Cory Sandhagen and Rob Font. UFC Nashville also has a couple of debuting fighters, one of which is Kazakh flyweight Assu Almabayev. He takes on Ode Osbourne in a preliminary card bout.
Assu “Zulfikar” Almabayev
Standing at five-foot-five
Fighting at 125 lbs (flyweight)
29-years-old
Fighting out of Almaty, Kazakhstan
Training out of Dar Pro Team Kazakhstan
A pro record of 17-2
3 KO/TKOs, 8 Submissions
How will Almabayev do in the UFC:
The UFC has done a great job building its flyweight division this past year. They introduced Joshua Van, Stephen Erceg, and Azat Maksum this year alone. Almabayev fits that mold as a legit up-and-comer in the 125-pound division. He’s a former staple of Brave CF and was a Naiza FC flyweight champ. I heard Almabayev has a padded record but that’s not true. Wins over Imram Magaramov, Aleksander Doskalchuk, and former UFC fighters Chris Kelades and Zack Makovsky are solid wins. He has a lot of filler on his record beating a lot of low-level guys but has still proved he’s UFC level with some of the guys he’s beaten.
Almabayev is well-versed but is more comfortable on the mat. He’s a black belt in jiu-jitsu and was a national champion and world cup winner. Almabayev is a solid wrestler being adaptable in every area. He’s good in the clinch using trips, using feints to shoot in, and most of all being able to execute perfect double legs. The speed of the 125er compliments his wrestling very well as well. Almabayev is methodical and patient on the mat. For long periods of time Almabayev is fine with sitting in guard and being busy just enough. In scrambles and when his opponent attempts something Almabayev is really good at taking the back. He holds eight wins by submissions and all but one came by a form of choke. Almabayev is good at using front headlocks and also the RNC when on the back.
Almabayev isn’t as clean on the feet but he does well. He has fast hands and does a fine job of throwing more than one striker. He has stopping power in his hands and is pretty accurate. Almabayev throws some heavy leg kicks mixing it up nicely. He still needs to put it together but with each fight he’s looked cleaner and cleaner.
I have high hopes for Almabayev in the UFC. So much hope that I think he’s a future top 15 fighter. He has the speed, cardio, wrestling, and grappling to be a big problem in the division. He’s getting better and I think it’s only going to be up from here.
How he matches up with Osbourne:
Osbourne has been in the UFC for three years and has a 4-3 record. It’s been up and down for him but he’s been in there with some tough guys. In his last fight, he had his best performance against Charles Johnson. Osbourne is just hard to trust. All three of his losses in the UFC he’s been finished early. His chin can be cracked and his neck can be taken. Osbourne is a good fighter but if Almabayev is as good a prospect as he looks, than this is a fight he should win. The pick is Almabayev as I think he can get this fight down and land more in the brief striking exchanges.
