Introduction
Friday, March 11th, Russian middleweight prospect Raimond Magomedaliev will be in action for Eagle FC, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Impa Kasanganay. He will be looking for another win, as Magomedaliev looks to earn continue to impress the Eagle FC brass that is Khabib Nurmagomedov. He represents Eagles MMA, a solid camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Wrestling: Offensively, Magomedaliev has very good wrestling that he uses to control and damage his opponents. This was seen most recently in his Eagle FC win over Anthony Njokuani, who admittedly is not a top grappler as much as he is a striker. That said, Magomedaliev has a proven track record of using his wrestling to dominate and finish fights. He has some submission skills, but it’s his ground-and-pound which is his bread and butter. That was also seen in his win over Njokuani, as he got to a position where he was comfortable to land big shots, forcing the ref to stop the bout.
Knockout Power: On the feet, Magomedaliev is solid as well. He has some technical ability, but it’s his one-punch KO ability that makes him more feared on the feet. Two of his most impressive wins came by one-punch knockout, as he flatlined both TUF veteran Valdir Araujo and destroyed ONE’s Edson Marques. Keep your chin tucked with this guy.
Needs Improvement
Grappling from the Bottom: Magomedaliev has not shown too many chinks in the armor, but has been shown that when he is taken down by an equal-or-better wrestler, he struggles to get out from the bottom. Watch his fight with James Nakashima under ONE. He worked hard to defend takedowns, but once Nakashima got him to the mat, he kept Magomedaliev there. He also ate some big shots off his back and it seemed Nakashima passed his guard with ease.
Outlook
UFC Prelim Fighter/Midcarder: Magomedaliev has a strong resume, as he has fought some notable opponents and doesn’t take too many gimmes. That’s great going forward, as that reputation will do him well with the brass of top companies. My assumption is his end goal is the UFC, even though he’s competing for Khabib’s Eagle FC. That will give him some more attention, and I am sure Dana White and co. are keeping an eye on the promotion for talent, if they are given the opportunity to sign them. He could have a solid run with the UFC, even though middleweight is an absolute shark tank.
MMA Intel 