Introduction
Saturday, July 11th, Russian featherweight prospect Bibert Tumenov will be in action for Absolute Championship Akhmat, where she will be looking to score another in the win column against Alexander Matmuratov. He will be looking to continue his hot streak, as Tumenov looks to impress the UFC brass in an attempt to earn a contract. He represents Bastion, a little-known camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Striking: Like his brother Albert, Bibert Tumenov is a tremendous striker with an extensive background in the striking arts. Six of his eight wins come by way of knockout, a credit to his on-the-feet skills. Tumenov fights out of the southpaw stance. Because of that he’s got a great left straight that he lands with impunity. He’s also a strong counter striker, setting his opponent up with feints and then laying back, allowing them to come in and eat shots on command. His power is mostly scene when things get tight. When striking from a distance, he’s good at compiling points, but it’s when his opponent gets inside that he tees off with massive haymakers. That’s when he rocks them and goes for the finish. The one negative thing I have noticed is that he doesn’t throw that many kicks. That diversification of his striking could bring him to the next level.
Killer Instinct: One thing you really can’t teach is killer instinct, and Tumenov has that. When there is blood in the water, Tumenov senses it and turns up the heat. If he hurts you with one of his strikes, he goes from being more laid back and inviting of his opponents strikes to on top of them like a pitbull on a pork chop. It’s why he’s finished 3/4 of his fights. Promoters loves finishers who bring the violence, and Bibert Tumenov is one of those guys.
Needs Improvement
Grappling Threat: Thus far, we have not seen much of a grappling threat from Tumenov. Offensively, it’s rare that we see him go for a takedown, which makes sense because he’s a striker first. And while he does generally have solid takedown defense, he’s been taken down more than a handful of times, including in his loss to Timur Khizriev. He generally gets back to his feet quickly, but the number of times he got put on his back lost him points and that fight in general. He hasn’t shown much in terms of a submission game, as he much prefers to work to a place to get back to his feet and get back to striking. That’s fine, but once he graduates to higher levels of MMA, getting back to his feet will not be so easy.
Outlook
UFC Midcarder: Bibert Tumenov is just 23 years old, so the future is very bright for this top Russian prospect. Adding to his grappling should be his focus moving forward, as he’s a more-than-capable striker already. Like his brother Albert, Bibert will continue to get better from fight to fight, while continuing to amass a highlight reel that will garner him much warranted attention. He’s not as big and powerful as his brother, but that’s because his brother fought a couple weight classes above Bibert. Featherweight is a shark tank, but if Bibert keeps the course, the UFC should be calling his name in no time. I don’t think he’ll be as good as Albert, but that’s a tall mountain to climb in itself.
MMA Intel 