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Ex-UFC featherweight Makwan Amirkhani left the promotion back in June. Now, he is scheduled to face top prospect Mochamed Machaev at OKTAGON 54 in Ostrava, the Czech Republic. The bout, which will be contested at lightweight for €1 million, will be sponsored by Tipsport, the country's largest betting agency.
Both men will be heading into their OKTAGON MMA bout with different goals and aims. For Amirkhani, he is at a career crossroads. He is 35 years old and closer to the twilight of his tenure as a mixed martial artist. Furthermore, he is coming off a significant rough patch, having not been on a winning streak since 2019.
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He is currently 2-6 in his last 8 fights and is determined to bounce back from his losing streak and prove that he is still a top-level fighter in his first fight since the UFC opted against renewing his contract. By contrast, Machaev, who is just 24 years old, is over a decade younger than the Finnish 135-pounder.
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Furthermore, he boasts an impressive 13-1-1 record, with just one loss and one no-contest. For Machaev, the bout with Amirkhani is a chance to not only beat a former UFC fighter but have something of a notable name on his record. The complexion of the matchup will be of keen interest to fight fans.
Amirkhani is a grappler by trade, but lacks the gas tank necessary for extended grappling sequences, as he tires fairly quickly. Meanwhile, Machaev is an offensive wrestler who overwhelms his foes with volume on the mat. However, he is a poor defensive wrestler, as evidenced by his bout with Jaroslav Pokorn.
Against an Amirkhani determined to drag him to the ground, this may or may not prove to be his undoing.
Is Makwan Amirkhani friends with former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor?
Makwan Amirkhani and Conor McGregor both train at Straight Blast Gym Ireland under the guidance of John Kavanagh. Both men are training partners and have worked closely with one another in the past. However, they've never been known to be close friends.
Instead, the Irishman's closest friends from that camp are Dillon Danis and, prior to their feud, Artem Lobov, for whom 'The Notorious' was instrumental in securing a UFC career.
