Former LFA bantamweight champ Muin Gafurov missed weight for his fight with Jakub Wiklacz at UFC Vegas 113, necessitating a 141lb catchweight.
Wiklacz was perhaps best known as being one of Patchy Mix’s UFC opponents, and the former KSW star got right to work, firing kicks, setting up his hands, and putting Gafurov on the back foot.
Gafurov, also a former ONE Championship athlete, seemed to settle in soon enough, though he would sail wide with a looping hook about a minute and a half in. Wiklacz likewise was fanning on his front kick. Gafurov came close to catching a kick, leading to a clinch, and a trip by the Tajik fighter. Wiklacz, however, popped right back up. Towards the end of the round, Gafurov fired a spinning kick in close, but was in too tight to land it. Wiklacz was having solid success with his kicks, but Gafurov uncorked a volley of punches right at the end of the round for his biggest moment.
Early in round two, the fight went to the ground in a scramble off a jumping front kick by Wiklacz, with Jakub coming out on top. He wound up in side control, with Gafurov, on his back, laying with his head pointing to the fence. Wiklacz fired some heavy knees, and continued to stay heavy on top. When Gafurov tried to escape out, Wiklacz stayed on him. Tons of top time, and he wound up in mount, still two minutes on the clock. He’d eventually take the back and lock in a rear-naked choke with under 10 seconds to go, but the Polish fighter and ex-KSW champ inexplicably seemed to give up on the submission.
The third frame saw Gafurov close the distance and mix up his strikes, putting Wiklacz on the defensive early. Several heavy punches were at least partially blocked by Gafurov, who began digging the body in a clinch. Wiklacz responded with knees; Gafurov fired an elbow over the top off the break. Wiklacz was fighting with his mouth open, seeming to gulp air. A grazing eye poke halted the action for a millisecond, but Gafurov, the victim, didn’t want to stop. Instead, he went right back to work, tagging Wiklacz on the side of the head.
At the end of the round, Wiklacz made things dramatic. Gafurov went for a takedown. Wiklacz locked up a mounted guillotine choke instead, with seconds dying down. Gafurov appeared to give the thumb’s up, but moments later, was tapping right at the horn. It was a chaotic scene, with review officials needing to run it back. They saw what everyone else did, Gaufrov tapped just prior to the horn!
Official Result: Jakub Wiklacz def. Muin Gafurov by submission (guillotine choke), Round 3, 4:59
