Prospect in the Spotlight (Dec 15-16): Asylzhan Bakhytzhanuly

Introduction

Friday, December 15th, Kazakh light heavyweight prospect Asylzhan Bakhytzhanuly will be in action for RCC, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Maxim Grishin. He will be looking for another win, as Bakhytzhanuly looks to inch closer to a UFC contract. He represents Alash Pride, a solid camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”

Strengths

Ground Game from Top: Asylzhan is a solid wrestler with good takedowns and clinch against the cage. He has good physical strength and control when he gets a hold of his opponents. On the mat, Asylzhan is heavy and has a good combination of ground-and-pound and submissions. Ten of his wins come by striking stoppage, some of which are by ground-and-pound using punches and elbows. He has just one submission, but he’s definitely capable.

Power Striking: On the feet, Asylzhan also has solid punching power. He has solid technical ability, but he is really known for his stopping power when he lands. This includes his biggest win to date over PFL veteran Emiliano Sordi, who he was able to knockout with his big-time power.

Needs Improvement

Can Be Outstruck: Asylzhan’s chink in his armor certainly seems to be when he gets into extended striking battles on the feet with guys who can defend takedowns and outstrike him. His last three losses have all been by him getting outstruck in exchanges on the feet. He was knocked out by Alexey Butorin and Leonardo Santos, and also badly outpointed on the feet by Ivan Shtyrkov. This year, he took a pro kickboxing fight, but lost that bout.

Outlook

UFC Prelim Fighter: Asylzhan has a strong resume with wins over the aforementioned Sordi, Vladimir Seliverstov and Hasan Yousefi, so he clearly has some talent. That said, his aforementioned losses show he does have deficiencies that can be exposed. I think he can make it to the big leagues and fight for the UFC. He likely will have a lower ceiling there, though. Right now he has UFC vet Maxim Grishin on this plate, so that will be a great indicator if he’s UFC quality or not.