New UFC champion, Murzakanov’s knockout, ACA 202, and Mikhailidi vs. Barkhatov for the title

A warm welcome to everyone. This is the weekly discussion on the portal mma-tv.com. I'm Artyom Novopavlovsky, and for the first time, we're joined today by commentator Roman Mazurov. Rom, it is great to see you.

Hi everyone.

I would suggest that we don't stray too far from the topics and immediately dive into a discussion about the main and co-main events of UFC three hundred and twenty-seven. First, let's talk about the light heavyweights, Azamat Murzakanov and Paulo Costa. In this fight, Azamat unfortunately lost, for those of us watching, in the third round by knockout. Many of his fellow countrymen were passionately rooting for him to win. What are your general thoughts and impressions of this fight, and what was the primary factor for the loss?

Of course, the feeling right now is one of disappointment. We all clearly understood that Azamat was entering this matchup as the heavy favorite, largely because many critics had already dismissed Paulo Costa. There were previous losses, and they were absolutely one-sided, crushing defeats. And, of course, we have to consider everything that Paulo Costa said leading up to this intense fight. And naturally, we wanted Azamat to hold him accountable for his words and make him pay for everything he said. But let's admit it, Costa surprised us. He really did surprise us. He stepped into the octagon appearing as a completely different fighter, showcasing improved cardio, fluid footwork, and truly excellent boxing skills, while delivering hard strikes along with wonderful, powerful kicks targeting the body. Look how skillfully he did it, right? He systematically softened up the body, landing heavy shots, wore Azamat down, and eventually caught the tired fighter with that high kick, which proved fatal for us from a sporting perspective, of course. It's not like anything truly catastrophic occurred, yeah, it is an unpleasant situation. I think the fight simply did not work out as planned, you know, it just didn't go his way at all. It was just a bad day at the office, that's really how I see it for Azamat. Maybe there was some underestimation of his opponent, maybe something was going on in his head, yeah, maybe he was just a bit over-excited. Even the Brazilians were rooting for Azamat, yeah, they don't really like Paulo Costa because of his behavior and big mouth. And they wanted Azamat to win. in the clash against their own countryman, that probably says something. Yes, it's unpleasant, yes, the first loss, yes, a stoppage, yes, in a fairly significant fight, but then again, we know that defeat teaches better than victory.

Well, I honestly think the primary contributing factor could have been the intense psychological and mental pressure coming from Paulo Costa. Even though Azamat has a vast amount of professional experience, with six impressive finishes already under his belt in the UFC, it just wasn't enough. Like, this massive media presence plus, as you correctly noted, it really feels like the light heavyweight division perfectly suits Paulo Costa's style. He felt so incredibly confident in it that Azamat found himself unable to effectively say anything at all against him. Azamat, also because of the language barrier difference. I think all of those factors weighed on our athlete and prevented him from performing accordingly, in the way that he truly should have. What main conclusions can we also... Draw from Azamat's defeat, so that he can try to avoid this in the future?

Above all else, you must keep a cool head, first and foremost. Because all the tools are there. And again, in this fight, unfortunately, we didn't see Azamat's strengths that brought him victories in his previous fights. There wasn't that explosive speed, that, you know, killer speed, and we know that speed kills. There simply wasn't that signature touch of death, you know, Azamat's powerful right hand, which usually just knocks people out cold; it just wasn't working tonight, with only a few rare exceptions. The second round was actually okay, and there seemed to be a slight glimmer of hope for a moment, but in the end, it still didn't quite work out. He didn't cut the angle very well at all, you know, he really let Costa think, let Paulo Costa breathe, make his own decisions, and ultimately make the right decisions, so there just wasn't that all-consuming pressure we expected from Azamat. So yeah, it didn't work out.

Now, let's move on to the next big fight of the night. This is the main event, where Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg finally faced off. It was just like a dramatic movie script, where Prochazka was successfully pressing forward, and things were really starting to work in his favor. Then, with the opponent's sudden injury, it seemed like absolutely everything combined to give him the victory. But at the end of the first round, which is even more frustrating, Jiri runs into a left hook and collapses on the canvas. And that's it, everyone's in shock, fans of both fighters. How did you like the fight, and what were your expectations in general? Did they match the result?

But before this fight, Carlos Ulberg said a very right thing, that it would be a confrontation between chaos and order. Ulberg, he embodies meticulous order, that refined academic style. Jiri Prochazka, on the other hand, embodies a hurricane of unbridled passions and pure chaos. And sometimes it seems that Prochazka himself doesn't know what he'll do the next moment. And when it works out, he thinks, he surprises himself even more. "Oh, wow, if I can do this, and I can do that, and I can knock him out with a spinning elbow, and this way, and that way, and I can even kick him in the head." He almost never has fights that go to the scorecards. That is to say, he wins by knockout and loses by knockout in the most spectacular way possible. And in general, yes, this image of a Czech samurai is absolutely unique; locking himself away in a dark room for three full days with nothing but water, stinging himself with venomous Mexican ants, and going into the mountains completely alone, practically with just a single pot, where he almost froze to death once. Well, that is exactly how he finds himself. And In a fight, too, it's as if he doesn't rely on any plan, but solely on his reflexes, which are, of course, magnificent. And yes, Jiri Prochazka, in his own way, really gave away a fight that should have ended in his favor. As he later, I don't know if he was joking or not, said that he saw that Ulberg was injured, and so he felt sorry for him and didn't want to hit him. But Ulberg didn't have any of that pity for him at all. That is completely understandable, because it was a high-stakes title fight, so Carlos did a truly great job. Even on his damaged legs, and I think both of his legs were hit, though one was injured much more severely. He saw his perfect chance, let out a powerful left hook, and finished it all right there in the cage. Well done.

Now let's talk about the prospects of the light heavyweight division in general. Some think it's a bad situation when a fighter becomes a young champion, especially one who isn't very well-known in the media. But... The situation is further complicated by Carlos's injury, which will likely keep him out for nine to twelve months, according to doctors. So, what's next? We have Paulo Costa, who's coming off a win over Murzakanov and will surely break into the top five. Magomed Ankalaev with a loss, Jiri Prochazka, Khalil Rountree. And let's not forget that Jan Blachowicz will be fighting Bogdan Guskov. And they're also right there at the top in the mix. So guys, who should be lining up to fight whom? And what would be the most interesting fight for the UFC, in your honest opinion?

I honestly think that given Paulo Costa's well-known history with Russians, where he confidently says, 'I already beat one, and now I can say that I beat another one.' Plus, he had that... Remember, he had a pretty intense beef with Khamzat Chimaev as well. And by the way, maybe their paths will cross someday. Well, Khamzat has other things going on right now, very interesting ones too. They're even beefing up security at press conferences before his fight with Sean Strickland. And I think it's for good reason. I think Costa should be matched up against Ankalaev so he can say, 'Give me more Russians, I will take out your former champion too.' And then, after that victory, I will truly be the rightful number one contender. I think that storyline would sell quite well to the fans. Especially since Magomed Ankalaev is very active on social media at this very moment. He's already spoken out about this potential matchup. So, he is making sure his voice is heard. And he said he's ready. I think it would be absolutely fantastic to let them fight. To resolve this entire narrative once and for all. Build it up and then officially crown a truly worthy contender.

Listen, I honestly think there are actually some very good prospects for Russian athletes in the division right now, except for Murzakanov, but he's not out of the picture just yet. Again, we have Bogdan Guskov who could potentially win his next fight and finally break into the official rankings. Plus, as you mentioned, there is Khamzat Chimaev, who could finish up all of his remaining business at middleweight, then move up here to light heavyweight and start dealing with guys like Paulo. And we can also be happy for Ankalaev, who's already been publicly calling out Jiri Prochazka on social media with a series of bold and provocative statements. He was saying, 'I just want the fight, don't tell me anything else, just give me the fight.'

Yeah, Magomed has plenty of options , but I think a more intriguing story with a touch of controversial scandal would be with Costa.

The ACA two hundred and two tournament that took place in Saint Petersburg. The tournament is over now. But what truly captured your attention from it? I would like to propose that we do a bit of a back-and-forth exchange. One event that you remember, then one that I remember.

Well, of course, we must talk about the return of Eduard Vartanyan, a man whom I still consider to be the strongest lightweight in the country and the entire CIS. In my honest opinion, there is simply no one better than him at this moment. He is so impressive primarily because he is a complete master at solving any difficult problem inside the cage during a fight. And overcoming difficulties. And building a very smart strategy and fight plan, and following it very strictly. This is because Eduard still tends to favor his striking techniques, but we must also keep in mind how he handled the wrestlers in the past. How he defeated Frodo. A long, long time ago, coming out, I think, basically... as mere cannon fodder against a man who took everyone down, yeah, and held everyone down, and he just completely outplayed him, yeah, just like how he won against Artem Reznikov, and how he won against Yusuf Raisov, yeah, effectively allowing them to do absolutely nothing at all. And then there's this fight in Saint Petersburg, where his nose was broken, where he was rocked several times quite badly, and he still managed to find a way out of the difficult situation and win early. So, yeah, for me, that's definitely a highlight of this tournament.

Well, I can certainly point out Mamashov, who, in the signature style of Cody Garbrandt, brutally knocks out his opponent with precision. And also, in direct response to your co-main event, I'll mention the highly anticipated main event, where a former, you could say, MMA Series fighter competed, who at least had three professional bouts. That's the powerful Kirill Kornilov, who defeated the forty-year-old veteran Tony Johnson in a very routine and dominant fashion.

Yeah, and another major highlight from the event, that's of course the knockout by Khadis Ibragimov. I think ACA signed a remarkably talented and impressive fighter, a media-savvy, star fighter, who, again, said that I want to scrap in this fight, I'm going to fight, not wrestle. And he fully stood by his pre-fight promises and completely finished off his opponent in a most brutal fashion. In spectacular fashion, with a right hook of absolutely monstrous power, when Khadis was shown this knockout afterwards, he was like, oh, wow, look at that, I can do that, apparently, man, I'm really tough, for sure, but there's nothing more to say here.

He already had a bit of a spat with Evgeny Goncharov when they were appearing on the same show on Sport24. What do you think their fight could be like? In terms of scale, do you think it will be truly comparable to the match between Mineev and Ismailov?

Unlikely. In terms of scale, there's been nothing like it in Russian MMA and none in sight. Given the kind of hype that there was. That is, of course, an extraordinary and truly monumental occasion that will forever be remembered and will be written in gold letters in the history of Russian MMA, and that is certainly no exaggeration at all. That is an absolutely fair assessment, in my opinion. There will be a story here. It's already there, it has already had its beginning. And I really think that this fight definitely needs to be hyped up quite a bit. But still, Goncharov, he held the championship belt, while Khadis has only just arrived. So, won't there be a bit of a mismatch in terms of the official rankings? But from a media standpoint, I think this fight is just absolutely fantastic. And looking at the overall style, yeah, if Khadis attempts to approach the fight the same way he did here, then I think we'll get a truly great and intense brawl.

Well, I also simply can't help but mention the intense scuffles that took place at the recent ACA tournament. That involved Pavel Gordeev and Zaur Gadzhiev, and then Zaur was also officially reprimanded for his actions. But what I really liked was that, despite all those ugly gestures at first, then the physical fight, and the heated showdowns... The guys eventually recorded a joint video where they admitted they were completely wrong, shook hands, and agreed to settle everything in a professional fight in the near future. I think the league will definitely jump on an event like that and make it happen.

Yeah, but if you remember correctly, Zaur Gadzhiev didn't just clash with Gordeev there; they also... they went after Eduard Vartanyan as well, and some kind of mass brawl broke out right then and there too. It all happened just before the fight, and Eduard later said he took a heavy hit to the back of his head, but he still went out and won the match, despite everything that was going on. So, yeah, that was definitely another very unpleasant moment.

Now, let's move on to the next announcement, a truly significant and major one that just took place very recently, freshly hot off the press, so to speak. Anatoly Malykhin will fight Oumar Kane for the heavyweight belt on May fifteenth in Bangkok. Honestly, do you think Anatoly is in good enough shape right now to take the championship belt back from Kane?

I hope so, because the previous fight turned out to be a huge disappointment for all of us. It feels like Anatoly might have underestimated Reug Reug, who turned out to be physically massive and very tough. Awkward, sort of clumsy but powerful. Yeah, Anatoly got tired, plus, again, that point deduction. Yeah, he certainly lost, but they've already been exchanging heated words on social media for a long time before this fight, hyping it up quite a bit leading up to the event. And I think Anatoly has learned the right lessons from his past defeat and will come into this rematch in proper shape. And he'll take it.

Of course, we'll be hoping for his victory. And here's a little exclusive. We have just sent a message to Anatoly Malykhin right now to get a quick personal comment from him. He's up in the mountains, so it's hard for him to send anything. Messages take a long time to go through, but he managed to send one. So keep an eye on the MMA-TV and MMA Series social media for the message Anatoly Malykhin sent over. And, of course, I also want to touch on the recent announcement of an upcoming MMA Series fight. We are going to have a title fight between the challenger Nikita Barkhatov and the reigning champion Dmitry Mikhailidi. Nikita Barkhatov is moving up from the featherweight division, and he is trying to take the championship belt away from Dmitry Mikhailidi, who literally just won it recently. In fact, he hasn't even had a real chance to enjoy that moment of triumph just yet. And the two competitors will have to determine once and for all which one of them is the superior fighter. And Nikita is also aiming for a historic achievement in the MMA Series league. And, Rom, I really want to ask you right here, if we take a deep look at the historical data in other professional leagues and various promotions, With similar attempts where elite fighters move up from the featherweight division, do the statistics show it usually works out well for them, or does it show that you shouldn't push your luck too far and should instead stick to your own weight class and just keep doing what you're already great at?

I honestly cannot recall the exact statistics right now, but it always looks incredibly bold and very striking to the eye. Indeed, when a person moves up in weight and says, I took the championship belt in my current category and I am definitely going to take the next one as well. Here, for me... Not even just regarding our specific tournament, the MMA Series, but in general. I think it's unfair to the fighters who are already in that weight class and in the rankings. Because, well, they also shed sweat and blood there, endure injuries, and they wait, waiting for their moment. And then some guy with a belt comes along and says, wait a minute, I'm first. That, I think, is not very fair. But otherwise, of course, it's a great story. This is, again, a historic achievement for the MMA Series. No one has done this yet, as far as I understand. So, overall, yeah, it's great. Especially since Mikhailidi is the one who beat my teammate, Andrey Vasilenko. So I'll be rooting against him.

I want to add that this is also a rematch between the guys. And the first time, Dmitry Mikhailidi won. They've already met in the RCC. I'd also like to note that these guys are undefeated in our league, with records of six and zero and four and zero, which is always interesting to see. And I think the MMA Series audience is already buying tickets and waiting for this confrontation to happen. Rom, I want to say a huge thank you to you. It was truly a pleasure to have you in today's discussion. And I urge all viewers to watch us, follow along, and stay tuned for the next episode. Thank you. Roma, bye.

Bye.