Introduction
Friday, May 8th, Russian featherweight prospect Dzhambulat Zelimkhanov will be in action for ACA, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Alimaradan Abdykaarov. He will be looking for another win, as Zelimkhanov looks to inch closer to an ACA title. He represents Akhmat Fight Club, a solid camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Offensive Ground Game: When implementing his wrestling and being on offense on the mat, Zelimkhanov is a dominant force. He is able to get takedowns and trips along the fence to force the grappling. On the mat, he has some strong ground striking and a good submission arsenal. He has a good strangling ability, as all three of his tapouts have come by way of sub (rear-naked choke, guillotine choke and anaconda choke). He also has finishes with his ground striking, showing his top game on the mat is to be feared.
Striking: On top of strong offensive wrestling, Zelimkhanov has a strong striking game on the feet. A lot of times he uses combos he can implement takedown set ups with. However, when on the feet for an extended period, Zelimkhanov strings together good combos and has a great deal of stopping power. As seen recently, he mixes to the body well, as he finished top Russian featherweight Rustam Kerimov with a body shot. He also uses knees and elbows well, rounding out his full striking arsenal.
Needs Improvement
Submission Defense: While his offensive ground game is to be feared, there have been holes in a couple of the outings that Zelimkhanov has undertook. In two of his three losses, Zelimkhanov was tapped out including a kimura to Baga Nikabagamaev and an earlier sub loss to a 4-2 opponent. When he’s not in control on the ground and on offense, he can be caught by a good submission fighter. Luckily, Zelimkhanov is usually in control.
Outlook
ACA Champion: Whether Zelimkhanov goes to the UFC or not, which with recent trends on Russian fighters certainly seems less likely, I think it’s safe to say that Zelimkhanov at the very least will be an ACA Featherweight Champion. They guy is proven and has beat a laundry list of top fighters in that country/promotion. If he were to go up to the major leagues, it seems more likely at this point that the PFL would be a more likely destination. He could definitely do some damage in that company as well, as he’s got all the skills and grit to make a run for the title there as well.
MMA Intel 