John Pork. Chanco. Whatever you call him, Magomed Zaynukov finally made his UFC debut on Saturday, facing Damian Rzepecki in a lightweight fight at UFC Abu Dhabi.
Zaynukov’s nickname, “Chanco” (technically “Wild Chanco”), spoken by coach Khabib Nurmagomedov, had been misheard by UFC fans a while back, leading to him being called “John Pork” and becoming something of an internet meme/MMA legend. That, without ever having fought in the UFC. A former Muay Thai champ, he was 8-0 in MMA with a win on the Contender Series last year.
Completely overlooked in the build-up to the fight was Rzepecki, also undefeated at 10-0.
When round one started, Zaynukov opened with two oblique kicks. That forced Rzepecki into the clinch early and put the fight on the cage. Rzepecki did rack up some control time, but Zaynukov landed the better knees. He did a good job of fighting for underhooks and eventually got off the cage. Over the final minute and a half, Rzepecki landed a nice straight to the body, Zaynukov continued tearing up the lead knee with front kicks, Rzepecki briefly scored a takedown, and Zaynukov closed the round with a combination that included a head kick. It was a competitive opening round.
Round two started with Zaynukov landing a counter right hand off a leg kick. Another clean combination from Zaynukov forced Rzepecki to tie up. This time it was Zaynukov who benefited, scoring a strong body-lock takedown. Rzepecki got right back to his feet and nearly landed a spinning elbow. You could see Zaynukov’s confidence growing as he marched forward and threw in volume. Rzepecki landed a nice body kick, but he really wanted to make it a battle in the clinch. That turned out to be a problem because Zaynukov had the better Muay Thai. He landed two nasty elbows that badly hurt Rzepecki. Rzepecki clinched again and ate another elbow that busted him open. With blood in the water, Zaynukov looked for the finish. He was loading up on big shots, but Rzepecki managed to survive the round.
Going into round three, Zaynukov had all the momentum, so Rzepecki needed to earn some respect back. About two minutes in, Rzepecki shot for a takedown but put himself in a bad position. He recognized it quickly and smartly backed away. The problem was he couldn’t land anything at range. He was using feints, but Zaynukov wasn’t biting. Zaynukov continued attacking the lead knee and timed a nice right hand. Rzepecki tried for another takedown, but it wasn’t there. He started getting overzealous, and Zaynukov made him pay with some nasty shots. He kept finding a home for his elbows and front kicks to the face. Rzepecki shot another single leg but ran into another vicious elbow. Zaynukov closed out the round in control as Rzepecki’s face was a mess.
A one-sided decision in favor of “Chanco,” who looks to be a solid addition to the promotion’s lightweight ranks.
Official Result: Magomed Zaynukov def. Damian Rzepecki by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
