Introduction
Tuesday, October 14th, Uzbek heavyweight prospect Azamat Nuftillaev will be in action for Dana White’s Contender Series, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Jovan Leka. He will be looking for another win, as Nuftillaev looks to score a UFC contract. He represents an unknown camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Top Grappling: Nuftillaev is an overwhelming wrestling presence, which accounts for most of his MMA game. When he gets takedowns, which he scores early and frequently, he gets to work looking for the finish quickly. He has 11 knockouts and 4 submissions, with most of those knockouts coming by way of ground-and-pound. His chokes are suffocating when he grabs the neck, which is how he finishes by submission. He’s suffocating from top, leaning all 240-plus pounds on his opponent and making him wear it.
Experience/Activity: For a guy on the Contender Series, Nuftillaev is very experienced especially for a heavyweight. A pro since 2018, he has fought professionally 19 times and fights frequently, meaning he stays active. He averages almost three fights a year, which is good for a regional fighter, especially one that struggles to find opponents in a less-occupied weight class.
Needs Improvement
Bottom Grappling: In the same way his offensive wrestling is a major weapon, his off-the-back grappling is his Achilles heel. In his lone loss to Slim Trabelsi, he was not only matched on the feet, but once Trabelsi got Nuftillaev on his back, he looked lost. From there, he was pounded out due to Trabelsi’s relentless top attack and Nuftillaev’s own exhaustion. He needs to get the jump on the grappling or else he will struggle.
Outlook
UFC Midcarder: The UFC is always in need of heavyweight talent, so Nuftillaev seems like a guy that could help give that division depth. He doesn’t have the type of game that is going to overly excite Dana White, but he will have a solid run in the UFC heavyweight division. Obviously, the more wrestling-centric his opponent in the UFC and higher up the ladder, the more he will struggle, as he really needs to implement that wrestling to be successful. Either way, he’s a worthy UFC candidate.
MMA Intel 