After an early scare on the feet tonight at UFC Fight Night 238, Umar Nurmagomedov used his high-level skills on the mat to control the rest of the fight against newcomer Bekzat Almakhan.
Round One:
Head kick attempt from Almakhan is blocked. Low kick fromm Nurmagomedov. Body kick for Almakhan. Big overhand from Almakhan catches Nurmagomedov off-guard, clipping him on the temple and he drops, but is immediately hunting for a single-leg takedown. Almakhan defending but Nurmagomedov adjusts and gets him to the canvas.
Good work from Nurmagomedov to quickly shift the momentum after that dangerous moment on the feet. Nurmagomedov able to get to Almakhan’s back and works in his hooks.
Body triangle now for Nurmagomedov and just looking for the occasional light punch as almakhan stays wary of potential rear-naked choke attacks.
Heading towards a minute left in the round and Almakhan gets his back flat on the canvas. Nurmagomedov seems happy just to stay in his opponent’s closed guard for the remainder of the round. He lands a couple of elbows to the head.
Round Two:
Knee stomp from Nurmagomedov. Missed kick from him. Almakhan tries for a flurry of punches, but Nurmagomedov slides out of range. Nice kick from Nurmagomedov.
Now Nurmagomedov nicely works into a takedown attempt and lands it close to the center of the Octagon.
Nurmagomedov transitions over to the other side in side control. However, Almakhan bides his time and then explodes back to his feet. Then as Nurmagomedov gets back up Almakhan immediately fires off a kick. That was close to being illegal but he got away with it.
However, soon after Nurmagomedov brings Almakhan back down again close to the cage. Nurmagomedov gets to full mount and starts raining down big punches. Almakhan does well to find a way back to his feet under fire.
He’s not up for long though before Nurmagomedov gets back into range and takes him down again. Nurmagomedov back in full mount again and landing a series of punches to the head.
Final 45 seconds and more punches land. Almakhan trying hard to get up but isn’t quite able to. He’s on his knees and Nurmagomedov goes to his back and lands more punches.
Round Three:
Missed leg kicks from Nurmagomedov and a head kick attempt comes up short from Almakhan. Oblique kick for Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov misses a punch and Almakhan counters with a punch of his own.
Overhand from Almakhan misses. Nurmagomedov lands his latest takedown attempt. He moves into half-guard in the center of the Octagon. A couple of elbows land. Now he times another.
A couple of solid left hands connect for Nurmagomedov now as we approach the half-way mark in the final round. Almakhan able to shift over to the cage. However now Nurmagomedov gets his back and flattens him out.
Almakhan trying to turn back into him. He’s not able to but does get to his knees. Nurmagomedov weighing heavy on him though. Nurmagomedov gradually ends up moving into full mount in the final minute and lands a few elbows while staying pressed tight to his opponent.
Final 10 seconds and Nurmagomedov rains down some punches but isn’t going to find a finish. We’re headed to the judges and Almakhan is hobbling over towards his corner, apparently having injured his leg at some point.
Decision:
Almakhan almost delivered an upset early in the opening round, but Nurmagomedov then dominated the action with his superior ground game to earn a convincing unanimous decision victory (30-25, 30-26 x2) and extend his unbeaten record to 17-0.
