Kazakh lightweight from the UFC Damir Ismagulov (23-1) is still without an opponent and a date for his next fight. For several months, the 31-year-old fighter has been publicly saying that he is ready and wants to fight, but there is still no fight. Bbabo.net correspondent - about the reasons for Ismagulov's torment.
Ismagulov has good experience in the UFC. He made his debut in the promotion in 2018 and has won four victories under the auspices of the American organization so far. But despite this, no one classifies him as a star or top lightweight.
There are certain reasons for this too. Firstly, Ismagulov still does not have early victories in the UFC. It is clear that the very fact of winning is most important, but in the most famous promotion in the world, the element of show and entertainment is valued. Five wins by decision may not be compared with one bright finish, which will be played in replays for another year. Secondly, Ismagulov himself is a rather modest and inconspicuous character. Many unranked fighters become famous due to their wit and trash talk, loud statements. Damir has no associations with this, and his English language also does not reach such opportunities.
Thirdly, the fighter from Orenburg rarely performs. When he first signed a contract with the UFC, he fought more or less actively. But then an almost two-year forced break followed, and now almost a year of downtime.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that in the second half of last year he was supposed to speak at one of the tournaments, but in the end he failed the weigh-in and was unable to fight. This also gave Damir a big and tangible minus, the promotion management and the fans remembered it. And despite all this, Ismagulov is considered a dangerous fighter with a record of 23-1. Therefore, many fighters will prefer another opponent to themselves than to face to face. If the Kazakhstani had more popularity or at least a place in the top 15 rating, then there would be more people who dared to fight, no doubt.
Ismagulov said he was ready to fight at the end of December, then he expected to be able to get a fight in February. But none of this happened. As a result, it is now the middle of March, and Damir still continues to write on social networks and use them to ask the UFC to organize a fight.
The conclusion is this. It's not enough to be a good fighter and win. You need to do it spectacularly or compensate for the lack of bright performances with sharp statements and noise on social networks. Then the position will make it much easier to find and wait for the next fight. For example, lightweights Arman Tsarukyan (18-2) and Rafael Fiziev (11-1) also work with manager Sayat Abdrakhmanov. Moreover, if Damir got into the promotion back in 2018, then Arman and Rafael ended up there in April 2019.
But during this time, both had six fights each, losing the first, and then winning five times in a row. And now Tsarukyan takes 12th place in the ranking, and Fiziev - 11th. Yes, and in terms of media coverage, they had little time, but managed to break away from Ismagulov.
Age is also not on Damir's side. He is already 31 years old, and if you start a rapid movement to the top, then you need to start now.
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