A rising lightweight prospect kept its daring goals intact with an impressive UFC Baku show.
The very first UFC event that would take place in Azerbaijan was certainly a mixed bag.
Those who stayed in the Arena and were not among the fans who left before the UFC Baku Main Event did not go home exactly after a collision between Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree JR who was called a lot on average.
And the map was opened in the same way, because the locals of the Azerbaijanii had to go through seven consecutive decisions to start the night.
Fortunately the first finish was worth the wait and it came from one of the own host country.
Nazim Sadykhov expanded his undefeated line to 12 at UFC Baku
In the second fight of the main map, Nazim Sadykhov made a splash for his home fans.
The lightweight prospect recovered from an early fear in the round one to limit Nikolas Motta unconscious with a brutal combination in round two.
The devastating finish and the entertaining fight were so impressive that it yielded both Sadykhov and Motta rare bonuses of $ 100,000, because they honored the fight of the night and also collected the performance of the night controls.
Although it was a nice comfort for the reports of Brazilian, there is no doubt that 'Black Wolf' will return the happier of the two to home, after he had extended his undefeated line in MMA to 12 straight fights.
Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC
Nazim Sadykhov keeps hope for Khabib Nurmagomedov-like streak alive on UFC Baku
With the result, Sadykhov registered a first UFC victory in the home floor and continued his push in the direction of the lightweight top 15. And he also promoted a more ambitious and daring goal in MMA.
During a fighting week interview with E. Spencer Kyte for UFC.com, Sadykhov pointed his sights on what would be an unprecedented 30-field undefeated line, so that he was placed above the undefeated run of Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“It is something that rose out of nowhere, but now I defend it as if it is my turf,” said Sadykhov. “I am now a hunter with an 11-field (12 na UFC Baku) undefeated series.
“That is an impressive record; they are rare in MMA. So I am looking to continue to grow and see how far it can go. Let it be an undefeated streak of 30 fights and retire.
“It means a lot. I worked for those results. I dug deep in fights. There have been fighting where they have been nearby and I dug deep – another 20, 30 seconds left in the third round and I ended the fight; that happened a few times.
“I will guard it with my life,” Sadykhov added.
Such a performance would surpass the iconic run of Nurmagomedov, who won 29 fights in a row before he retired undefeated in 2020.