Ikram Aliskerov came into UFC 294 tonight as one of the most hyped prospects in the UFC’s middleweight division. It’s safe to say that the hype around him will only grow from here.
The native of Dagestan was originally pegged to fight Nassourdine Imavov in Abu Dhabi tonight. But when Imavov withdrew, he instead found himself matched with Warlley Alves.
Making his debut at 185lbs, Alves proved to be no match for Ikram Aliskerov, who destroyed him in savage fashion in the opening round, earning a TKO victory.
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Aliskerov’s win tonight took his overall MMA record to 15-1 – so who was responsible for handing the Dagestani the only loss of his career?
Unsurprisingly, the responsible fighter is now a UFC superstar in his own right. The only man to defeat Ikram Aliskerov in MMA is none other than Khamzat Chimaev.
‘Borz’ faced off with Aliskerov in the Brave CF promotion in Amman, Jordan in a 180lbs catchweight bout back in April 2019. At the time, Aliskerov was the slightly more experienced fighter, holding an 8-0 record to Chimaev’s 4-0 ledger.
Unfortunately for him, that didn’t matter. Khamzat Chimaev needed just under two-and-a-half minutes to dispatch Ikram Aliskerov with a short right uppercut, turning out his lights immediately.
The entire fight can be viewed below.
Since then, of course, Chimaev has quickly established himself as one of the UFC’s fastest-rising stars, and could claim a middleweight title shot tonight.
As for Aliskerov, he is now 2-0 in the UFC in his own right, and will no doubt be gunning for a rematch with ‘Borz’ in the future.