The long win streak of one of these talented Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweights
will come to an end this June.
On Thursday morning,
MMA Fighting first reported that Damir
Ismagulov (23-1) would be squaring off with Guram
Kutateladze (12-2) on June 18. The two lightweights will toe
the line at a UFC
Fight Night card on that date, and no location has been made
official but it might be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas if there
is not another domestic destination on the books. News of this
matchup has since been confirmed by Ismagulov on his
Instagram stories page.
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Winner of his last 18 bouts, Russia’s Ismagulov has rattled off
four straight unanimous decision wins inside the Octagon since
debuting with the company in 2018. Long layoffs have slowed what
could otherwise be considered an extremely promising career, as he
has notched wins over the likes of Joel
Alvarez and Thiago
Moises working his way through the division. Ismagulov was
booked at the end of October 2021 against Magomed
Mustafaev, but after substantially missing weight, the fight
was scratched.
Kutateladze and his nine-fight win streak will meet Ismagulov in
the center of the cage in June. The Georgian made a splash in his
promotional debut in October 2020 when he snagged a split decision
over fellow hyped debutant Mateusz
Gamrot, who himself came into their clash with an 18-fight
unbeaten streak. Fighting out of Allstars Training Center,
Kutateladze won a few times under the
Brave Combat Federation banner before getting signed by the
organization in 2020. Neither man has suffered a defeat since
2015.
The UFC Fight Night card on June 18 does not currently have a venue
or city set, although the UFC’s fallback plan of the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas will always be available if need be. There is currently
no headliner official, and Ismagulov-Kutateladze is one of the
higher-billed fights on the card thus far. Other scraps include a
trio of middleweight matchups, when Julian
Marquez faces Wellington
Turman, Kyle
Daukaus takes on Roman
Dolidze and Phil Hawes
finally gets to throw down with Deron
Winn.