8. Artem Frolov vs Salamu Abdurakhmanov (ACA 177)
The ACA middleweight division is among the strongest in the world, with the top five fighters all deserving a chance in the rankings if they were to enter the UFC tomorrow. Russian champion Magonedsrasul Gasanov is one of the best MMA wrestlers in the sport today and could — this is no exaggeration — potentially beat any of the recent UFC 185lb champions on any given day. Gasanov is in his prime at age 29, five title fights into his reign and on a fifteen-fight winning streak.
That same Gasanov is also the only man to beat Salamu Abdurakhmanov in the last nine years; even when Salamu lost his belt it was only because he took a break from MMA. He and Artem Frolov have both been mainstays of the ACA 185lb division for the last nine years and challenged for the belt. The only reason the belt has not been passed amongst them, Ibragim Magomedov, and Shamil Abdulaev in an entertaining round robin for the last few years is because Gasanov is such an incredible fighter.
Yet most would likely find him more boring than either of these two fighters. Frolov’s style of entertainment is readily available to any fan, but Salamu’s may take a more educated eye. He makes baffling mistakes in grappling but is such a tenacious scrambler who refuses to settle that he always gets out of bad positions. By continuing to move and just try things he creates the opportunities for himself to come out on top until he succeeds. And that is one of the most entertaining things in the sport, to me, mixed martial artists not just biding their time, but rather putting moves in motion and executing skillful, agile, and often unique scrambles.
Will he be able to get the fight to the ground against Artem? Like other fights, it will not bother him if he must throw himself to the ground and drag his opponent with him because his ability to come up on a single leg far exceeds his ability to disguise his shots, and to wrestle in general. Despite being known for his grappling and being from the Causasus, he does not possess the stereotypical elite skills at double legs or cage-wrestling.
Frolov’s flaw is more readily noticeable; he is small for the division and thus has trouble getting up from under bigger wrestlers. But he CAN wrestle and if he can stuff Salamu’s shots entirely, or scramble out consistently, then he can really make this interesting given the apparent striking advantage in his favor. Abdurakhmanov is solid enough on the feet but is not totally comfortable given his defensive lack, so he can compete but could get desperate the longer the fight goes if he is unable to breathe his own realm’s air by sucking Artem Frolov beneath the surface of the water.
-Val Dewar
