A pair of flyweights from the Commonwealth of Independent States
will settle things in the Octagon this July.
The first matchup for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship event in Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates, is now official. Kazakhstani outlet
Sportilinet first broke the news on Thursday that Asu
Almabayev (21-3) would be meeting Ramazonbek
Temirov (19-3) in a significant clash at 125 pounds. Temirov
confirmed the fight on Instagram not long
after its announcement. This fight is set to go down in the
confines of the Etihad Arena at a currently unnumbered UFC on
ABC showcase on July 26.
Kazakhstan’s Almabayev crashed into the promotion in 2023 with a
long win streak in tow, and he put Ode
Osbourne away in the second round at UFC on ESPN 50 to announce
himself. A trio of decision over C.J. Vergara,
Jose
Johnson and Matheus
Nicolau placed him in contention with a number next to his
name. In a high-stakes contest against Manel Kape
in March, Almabayev ran out of steam. “Zulfikhar” turned the other
direction and ran away from Kape after Kape battered him with a
series of punches and knees, forcing referee Mike Beltran to call
the fight off due to the fighter’s physical surrender.
Unlike Almabayev, Temirov’s own consecutive win stretch remains
intact, victor in his last 11 fights including a pair of triumphs
in the promotion. With two dramatic first-round knockouts inside of
the Rizin Fighting Federation in 2023, Temirov
found his way to the UFC and debuted by prompting busting up
Vergara in a bit over half a round. In his sophomore effort, the
Uzbekistan native won on the scorecards against Charles
Johnson, ultimately concluding a five-fight first-round
knockout streak in the process.