After his 2023 loss towards the rising Grant Dawson, Damir Ismagulov was as soon as extra contemplating retirement and it appeared like his path within the UFC had come to an finish.
We haven’t heard from ‘Qazaq’ for a while, however now the information broke that he has signed with the Moscow promotion Nashe Delo and can compete towards the previous ACA Light-weight Grand Prix champion, Eduard Vartanyan. having final fought in June of 2023, Vartanyan was centered on getting a deal carried out with the UFC, however with no success.
These two fighters have nice pedigrees and are the identical age, however one had simply come out of the world’s number one MMA promotion and the opposite is eagerly ready for the call-up. Vartanyan vs Ismagulov is scheduled for Nashe Delo 82, in Moscow on March 2nd.
2022 ACA Light-weight GP Champion Eduard Vartanyan will tackle UFC veteran Damir Ismagulov on March 2nd at Nashe Delo 82. pic.twitter.com/9CW4rz5nQN
— Violent Cash TV (@ViolentMoneyTV) January 27, 2024
Eduard Vartanyan turned down an enormous deal from the Russian Promotion initially
All through 2022 and 2023, Vartanyan competed within the ACA Light-weight GP and in the long run got here out on high – ending all 3 of his opponents. A few months after that, in October 2023, ‘Lionheart’ revealed that he had turned down the most important contract within the historical past of Russian blended martial arts as a result of UFC was his major purpose and a number one want.
Stating that since he began his martial arts journey, he regarded on the UFC as his final purpose and vacation spot. Not solely competing there however attending to the belt. Sadly for him, the negotiations fell via and since then, Vartanyan determined to proceed constructing his title on the Russian scene.
Many followers and people near the game have been shocked by the Russian fighter and his staff’s lack of ability to seal the cope with the UFC, however Eduard himself got here out and revealed the reality: “The rationale they didn’t wish to signal me? It was the human issue, within the title of Sean Shelby. I’ve even talked to Dana White and he mentioned that he’s aware of me.”
Left with confusion about why Sean Shelby isn’t keen on him, Vartanyan determined to signal with Nashe Delo, the Moscow-based promotion which has good monetary backing. He’ll compete on their March 2nd card, in the principle occasion. Maybe he might persuade Shelby to signal him, with an excellent win towards the previous high 15 UFC Light-weight – Damir Ismagulov.
Eduard Vartanyan vs Damir Ismagulov – breakdown
Each fighters have been born in 1991 and are well-known names on the Russian MMA scene. Ismagulov was the M-1 World Light-weight champion, with a number of title defences to his title. ‘Lionheart’ however, was an interim champion of Russia’s premier MMA group – ACA and received their Grand Prix final 12 months, as talked about above.
Each athletes are recognized for his or her full MMA talent units, however with totally different approaches to fights. Vartanyan is extra of a stress fighter who likes to guide the dance and transfer ahead continuously, whereas ‘Qazaq’ prefers a Soviet college of boxing type, controlling the competition along with his exact and dynamic jab and counterpunching.
Each are not any strangers to wrestling, as Ismagulov has a background in military hand-to-hand fight (which makes use of placing and grappling methods with an emphasis on strikes and throws), whereas Vartanyan has proven fixed enhancements in his wrestling, floor management and floor and pound.
That is the proper stylistic matchup for followers to get pleasure from and we’re definitely getting a dynamic battle. The storyline may be very intriguing too, as one man goals concerning the UFC name up, whereas the opposite has already tasted the very best ranges of competitors the primary promotion needed to supply, buying a 5-2 document, all through his 5 years of competing there.
It’s vital to say right here that followers observe the Russian MMA scene very carefully and imagine lots of ACA’s opponents can simply compete within the UFC, particularly when speaking concerning the vary of 125 – 170 pound weight lessons. So, Vartanyan’s success there holds a whole lot of weight.
A brand new chapter in Damir Ismagulov’s profession and probably the final probability to go for the highest for Eduard Vartanyan. The degrees of pleasure are very excessive and a technical, fast-paced contest awaits us!
