Prospect in the Spotlight (Nov 29-30): Gadzhi Rabadanov

Introduction

Friday, November 29th, Russian lightweight prospect Gadzhi Rabadanov will be in action for PFL, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Brent Primus. He will be looking for another win, as Rabadanov looks to score a $1 million payday and the PFL title. He represents Mamishev Team, a smaller camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”

Strengths

Offensive Wrestling/Grappling: A sambo practitioner, Rabadanov is obviously skilled in the wrestling and overall grappling arts, specifically from the top position. He uses his wrestling defensively if guys are willing to try and engage in such a manner, but he mostly uses it when closing the distance and putting opponents against the cage and on the mat. From top, he is very heavy, using a mixture of ground-and-pound and technical passing to get to a more dominant position.

Power Striking/Killer Instinct: In addition to his wrestling, Rabadanov is known for his power striking. He has a low of power in his hands and some decent low kicks. He will be aggressive on the feet in walking down his opponents and looking to land the killshot. He also has a great killer instinct, as he will hurt his opponents on the feet and look to finish them with ferocity on the mat. That was seen in his most recent outing, where he blasted Michael Dufort in that very manner.

Needs Improvement

Fighting Off His Back: While Rabadanov is a great offensive wrestler and grappler, he can struggle when he’s outgunned in those categories by his opponents. If put on his back he can be outgunned and outwrestled, as seen in losses to Mehdi Dakaev (decision), Kuat Khamitov (submission) and others. He has improved his defense recently, but he taken on a wrestler as good as Dakaev since he fought his fellow Russian.

Outlook

PFL Champion: Rabadanov is in the cat’s bird seat here, getting a good matchup in Brent Primus. Primus is a jiu-jitsu player who does not have the wrestling ability that a guy like Rabadanov does. On the feet, Primus isn’t bad, but Rabadanov should have the power and aggression edge. Overall, I think Rabadanov should be the victor in this fight, clinching the PFL Lightweight Championship and $1 million. He will go on to defend that next year and continue to be a problem in the PFL lightweight division.