Ayub Gimbatov Archives - Cageside Press

Respecting (and Scouting) Older MMA Prospects

Shawn Bitter — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 12:00:10 +0000

The label “prospect” usually means young up-and-comers dubbed as the future of the sport. With that are said there are some fighters that don’t get the same love just because of their age. They could’ve got a late start in the sport, transitioned over from a different combat career, or maybe just fighters that never got their shot under the brightest lights. Here are some men/women at the age of 32 and over that are still worth watching for.

Remember, Dana White may say that he’s not looking for 35-year old contenders, etc. — but he still signs one every now and then!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-f-KWciV4U&pp=ygUPS2FtYWwgTWFnb21lZG92

Kamal Magomedov
Welterweight
10-0
Russia
32

Magomedov would be in a big promotion today if he actually made it to the cage. Over the last four years, he’s had more canceled fights than actual fights. He hasn’t fought yet this year already failing to make it to the cage once. It’s a shame too because I view him as one of the better welterweight prospects. The Russian is a big threat when it comes to catching a neck and on the feet, he’s a threat at finding that jaw.

Sunni Imhotep
Lightweight
4-1
US
32

One reason Imhotep is still a prospect at 32 is that he had a long amateur career fighting thirty times; 5-2 MMA, 6-1 Kickboxing, and 16-0 Muay Thai. He’s already fought in big promotions like Cage Warriors and Bellator. Imhotep trains out of Black House MMA so he’s always training with top guys making him better. He’s a tall lightweight at six-foot-one that knows how to use his range. He’s got crispy striking and over time has proved to be well-rounded using takedowns and jiu-jitsu to mix it up.

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10 Middleweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2022

Shawn Bitter — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 18:51:04 +0000

The middleweight division remains ruled by dazzling kickboxer Israel Adesanya, who will defend his title this February against Robert Whittaker. That’s the second straight rematch for “The Last Stylebender,” who is quickly running through all the opponents he can find at 185lbs.

We’ve got 10 picks for additions the UFC could make to the weight class this year. But before we get started, here’s a look at last year’s list, featuring current UFC roster members Alex Pereira, Caio Borralho, Isi Fitikefu, and Rinat Fakhretdinov all signing with the UFC in 2020.

Alex Pereira
Aaron Jeffery
Ayub Gimbatov
Caio Borralho
Hashen Arkhagha
Isi Fitikefu
Rinat Fakhretdinov
Ramazan Kuramagomedov
Shamil Abdulaev
Vladimir Mineev

Before we move on, here’s the previous entries in our 2022 “10 Prospects” series.

10 Heavyweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2022

10 Light Heavyweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2022

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Prospect Watch: Russia’s Ayub Gimbatov

Shawn Bitter — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 19:30:41 +0000

Fight Nights Global middleweight Ayub Gimbatov is our latest Russian prospect to watch out for. A proven finisher, “Silent” is known for silencing his opponents.

Tale of the Tape

Fighting out of Makhachkala, Russia
Age: 30
Weight class: Middleweight
Height: 6’1”
Training out of Academy MMA Makhachkala
Record: 10-1 (1 NC)
3 KO/TKO, 6 Submissions

Pros

Strong ground and pound
Submission threat
Excellent kicks
Solid wrestling
Good jiu-jitsu
Counter strikes well
Mixes it up beautifully
Good jab

Cons

N/A

Striking/Kickboxing: A-

Gimbatov is first and foremost a kickboxer. He sets the pace with his legs and just throws them out so effortlessly — it’s like a boxer’s jab. He will kick the legs, throw kicks up the middle, a lot of roundhouse kicks, and likes to be flashy from time to time doing some spinning attacks. He throws his hands, knees, and elbows as well and it all compliments his kicking skills. Gimbatov is a diverse, complex fighter on the feet. He’s always staying busy and always throwing something different.

Movement: B

Not the smoothest moving around but he is bouncy on his feet. With his loose style Gimbatov stays pretty active with his movement. He moves a lot from side to side and explodes in and out.

Clinch: B

Gimbatov is a strong fighter in the clinch. That is where a lot of his takedowns come from. On the other side, his defense is solid fighting wrists and framing off. He throws good elbows and knees and lands almost every time when he separates off a break.

Wrestling: A+

Wrestling is one area that shines for the very talented Gimbatov. As noted above he is very good with his kicks and strikes, and he basically blends his takedowns in there as well. Hardly telegraphing his shots, he’s instead perfect when he shoots and can easily adapt and get the takedown if there has to be a second attempt. Throughout his career, Gimbatov has accomplished double legs, trips, chain wrestled, slipped to the back and suplexed, single legged, and caught kicks. Not only is he diverse on the feet he’s extremely versatile on how to gets the fight to the mat.

Grappling: A

Gimbatov is a nightmare on top. If he isn’t smashing your head in he is going to submit you. As he’s a dangerous submission grappler all around, though he excels more attacking the limbs. He has a very dangerous armbar and in his last fight he just about ripped his opponent’s arm off with a kimura lock. Gimbatov is all over his opponents, transitioning smoothly while actively landing heavy ground and pound. Strong on top with a high grappling IQ to top it all off with.

Cardio: B

Gimbatov has only gone the distance only once. Usually, his overall skillset and the pace he sets breaks guys and it’s unlikely he sees the scorecards. Gimbatov has only gone outside the first round three times and all three times he never slowed one bit. Perhaps it will be different if he’s the one getting pressured and moving backward, but that hasn’t happened yet.

Defense: B+

Defensively I’ve seen no issues. He was finished once but that was five years ago to a really good fighter in Artem Frolov. At times if he’s not first he will get tagged from the outside but there’s no real issue. His takedown defense, even though he hasn’t had to defend a lot, has looked very good. Cardio is solid and durability doesn’t seem to be any issue.

Overall: A

I like Gimbatov a lot and he’s not someone that’s talked about even among the hardcore MMA fans. His diverse kickboxing and his fluidity make him a fun fighter to watch. His wrestling, getting those big impactful takedowns, makes it seem like you’re watching a WWE match. The overall ability to mix in a little bit of everything makes Ayub Gimbatov the top prospect he is now.

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10 Middleweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2021

Shawn Bitter — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 19:00:26 +0000

Ahh, the middleweight division. Whose champion, Israel Adesanya, may or may not be a light heavyweight come 2021.

Adesanya is set to face Jan Blachowicz for 205lb gold, from all appearances. Which could set up a potential super fight with Jon Jones. At least, should Jones opt to hold off on his move to heavyweight.

Hello, 185lb logjam. But maybe that’s not a bad thing. Divisions take time to mature, and middleweight feels as if it’s in something of a rebuilding phase, with Yoel Romero gone, and Robert Whittaker, Kelvin Gastelum, and Paulo Costa already defeated by the champion.

We’ve got 10 picks for additions the UFC could make to the weight class this year. But before we get started, here’s a look at last year’s list, featuring current UFC roster members Dricus Du Plessis, Dustin Stoltzfus, and Kyle Daukaus all signing with the UFC in 2020.

Abus Magomedov
Alex Pereira
Caio Borralho
Cezary Kesik
Dricus Du Plessis
Dustin Stoltzfus
Isi Fitikefu
Kyle Daukaus
Ramazan Kuramagomedov
Vladimir Mineev

Now, here’s our picks for 2021!

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