UFC lightweight Nazim Sadykhov returns home to Azerbaijan to fight under the UFC banner for the first time when he faces Nikolas Motta at UFC Baku on Saturday.
Sadykhov (10-1-1) is one of three Azerbaijani fighters on the UFC roster with Rafael Fiziev and Tofiq Musayev also taking part on this historic card. Sadykhov has yet to take a loss in the UFC, and holds victories over Terrance McKinney, Evan Elder and Ismael Bonfim.
Motta (15-5) came into the fight with two consecutive victories under his belt. He holds victories over Maheshate, Tom Nolan, and Cameron VanCamp.
Round 1 Sadykhov was super intense in the cage after making his entrance. Sadykhov was bouncy early on and technical with his movement and footwork. Sadykhov landed a couple solid body kicks, and ate one as well.
Both men were throwing with a lot of power. Motta rushed Sadykhov on the fence and went off with with every single shot he could think of throwing. Sadykhov bought himself time protecting himself with a high guard.
Motta may have punched himself out a bit because Sadykhov fired right back at him and put him on the fence landing heavy shots to the body and head. The insanity of the round was matched only by the crowd noise who were supporting Sadykhov.
The end of the round came in the clinch on the fence as Sadykhov landed two nasty elbows at the buzzer.
Round 2 Sadykhov came with the pressure early on and Motta had to earn some respect with strikes. Sadykhov slowed down and fought smart, but still very aggressive.
Both men landed shots to break body parts in this round. Sadykhov focused a lot on body shots, but did land a shot up top that cut Motta wide open.
The pace of the action alone probably gave sea-level Cain Velasquez nightmare.
Finally in the second round Sadykhov landed a clean and heavy right hand that dropped Motta and ended the fight. Big time win for Nazim Sadykhov.
Official Result: Nazim Sadykhov def. Nikolas Motta via R2 TKO, 4:17
