Introduction
Saturday, November 4th, Azerbaijani lightweight prospect Nariman Abbasov will be in action for Rizin, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Ali Abdulkhalikov. He will be looking for another win, as Abbasov looks to score a win in front of his countrymen. He represents Gabala, a smaller camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Offensive Striking: Abbasov surprisingly likes to strike most of the time in the cage, which is weird given his wrestling chops. His striking style is mostly boxing with low kicks sprinkled in. He likes to use hand combos and finish with those low kicks, which is how many of his exchanges go. He has power in his hands, which explains why he has 11 of his wins come by way of knockout.
Submission Wrestling: Abbasov has good offensive submission wrestling as well, which is why I find it strange he doesn’t use it more frequently. Just six of his wins come by way of the tapout, with the rear-naked choke being his go-to. He has shown in his most recent fight with Kanybek Janybek Uluu his asset when using wrestling, which is against the cage after pressuring with his striking. Once he’s on top, he likes to throw hammerfists and open up his opponent to look for their back for the finish.
Needs Improvement
Striking Defense: While Abbasov is clearly a dangerous striker when he’s throwing bombs, his defense can be penetrated, as he does have some holes there. This was clearly seen in his Dana White’s Contender Series fight against Ismael Bonfim, who had no problem touching him. Abbasov would overextend on his punches a good amount of time, especially with his chin out. Bonfim was able to find that. Also, Bonfim was timing his punches and waiting for him to overextend, which made Abbasov prone to get countered easily. He also struggled with defending body shots, which slowed him down and accumulated damage.
Outlook
UFC Midcarder: Abbasov had a tough draw in his Contender Series bout with Bonfim, who is clearly talented and has already been successful on the UFC roster. That said, Abbasov is obviously a top lightweight prospect himself. In fact, it’s almost tough to call him a prospect, seeing as he has over 30 fights. He has won a fight since his Contender Series fight, so he’s back on the right track. Now he has a chance under the Rizin promotion against a tough Russian Ali Abdulkhalikov, who will also challenge Abbasov. If he wins, the UFC should grab him, as he could be a staple of the UFC lightweight division for some time.
MMA Intel 