Prospect in the Spotlight (Jan 3-4): Karshyga Dautbek

Introduction

Tuesday, December 31st, Kazakh featherweight prospect Karshyga Dautbek will be in action for Rizin, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Ren Sugiyama. He will be looking for another win, as Dautbek looks to inch closer toward the Rizin title or a potential UFC contract. He represents Legion and Tiger Muay Thai, with Tiger Muay Thai being a respected, well-known camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”

Strengths

Aggressive Power Striking: Dautbek is a ferocious, powerful striker that looks to get opponents out of the cage in a hurry. He does so by aggressively walking them down and landing strong combinations. In fact, he’s on a seven-fight streak where he’s finished his opponents by knockout in the first round. Fourteen of his sixteen wins come by way of knockout, including multiple by way of body shots, which makes sense because he mixes up well between the head and abdomen. He has one-punch KO power as well, which makes him even more dangerous. His biggest knockout wins come over UFC vet Diego Brandao, Koyomi Matsushima and Tetsuya Seki, all of whom he has knocked out on his current knockout streak.

Needs Improvement

Off Back Against Wrestlers: Dautbek has surprisingly not taken on a ton of top-notch wrestlers, but it has been seen as the one chink in his armor. If he’s put on his back by a strong top grappler, Dautbek can struggle to get back to his feet and lose in control time. He has solid takedown defense, though, so it can be tough to get him there.

Outlook

Rizin Champion/UFC Top-25: Obviously, as of now, Dautbek is under contract with Rizin, so he’ll be fighting there for the foreseeable future. Under that promotion, I don’t see why Dautbek cannot be their champion. He’s proven to be a buzzsaw and has really grown since his last loss in March of 2019. If given a shot in the UFC, he’s a guy that could thrive given his destructive style. I think he could fight his way into the top-25 and be a guy that fights toward the top-end of the card.