One shared experience for many of the fighters on the scouting report is a common career path that includes competing in established, well-organized regional promotions such as Atlantic City’s Ring of Combat and Jungle Fight in Brazil. Eastern European mainstay ProFC has played host to the largest group of hopefuls in the heavyweight division as of late, including 2011’s #2 selection Shamil Abdurahimov. Four fight ProFC veteran Ruslan Magomedov (6-1) is among the newest prospects to emerge from this rigorous regional tournament circuit and could soon make his way to the top of the heap.
Magomedov comes from an amateur kickboxing background as a highly-credentialed regional champion in the sport. Considering his heavy 6’4″ frame, one might presume him to be a power puncher, but Ruslan employs more of a karate-styled approach, characterized by fast feet and deceptive quickness. Fighting from an orthodox stance, he prefers to probe with kicks off his lead leg or step in for a switch left roundhouse. Once he has found his preferred distance, he’ll flurry with hand combinations punctuated by kicks.
So far in his pro career, most of Magomedov’s ground experience consists of sitting on his opponents to finish them off after they’ve been battered standing. He does have a basic guard attack and a natural aptitude for submission attacks, but overall his grappling is a work in progress. His defense standing up could use a tune-up as well; he normally keeps his hands high but can get carried away throwing rapid fire punches, leaving himself open for counters.
Just four fights into his MMA career, Ruslan was entered into May’s Warrior Honor tournament draw in Ukraine. He advanced to the final of the four-man bracket to face the defending champ, Latvian bruiser Konstantin Gluhov (20-8), who had collected an absurd four tourney titles in the past year. In his first major test, Magomedov fell to Gluhov’s signature strike, a heavy right hook to the body, early in the second round. Ruslan got back on track with a July win over Vitalii Yavolenko at Moscow’s Fight Nights 4. Between new promotions like this seeking out fresh talent and ProFC’s upcoming 2012 series of events, Ruslan should have ample opportunity in the coming year to consolidate his status as one of the top rising heavies in Europe.
Footage of Ruslan Magomedov after the jump…
| Flyweight | Bantamweight | Featherweight | Lightweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 – #2 – #3 – #4 – #5 – #6 – #7 – #8 – #9 – #10 – |
#1 – Rony Mariano #2 – Aljamain Sterling #3 – Chris Holdsworth #4 – Josh Hill #5 – Fabiano Fernandes #6 – Claudio Ledesma #7 – Sirwan Kakai #8 – Kyoji Horiguchi #9 – Leandro Hygo #10 – Pedro Munhoz |
#1 – Hacran Dias #2 – Joey Gambino #3 – Brandon Bender #4 – Lance Palmer #5 – Jim Alers #6 – Anthony Gutierrez #7 – Max Holloway #8 – John Teixeira #9 – Cody Bollinger #10 – Bubba Jenkins |
#1 – Fabricio Guerreiro #2 – Alessandro Ferreira #3 – Adriano Martins #4 – Justin Salas #5 – Neilson Gomes #6 – Eduard Folayang #7 – Zorobabel Moreira #8 – Anton Kuivanen #9 – Jordan Rinaldi #10 – J.P. Vainikainen |
| Welterweight | Middleweight | Light Heavyweight | Heavyweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 – Andrey Koreshkov #2 – Dhiego Lima #3 – Brandon Thatch #4 – Nordine Taleb #5 – Hernani Perpetuo #6 – Brock Jardine #7 – Alan Jouban #8 – Mohsen Bahari #9 – Andre Santos #10 – Stephen Thompson |
#1 – Antonio Braga Neto #2 – Marcelo Guimaraes #3 – Claudio Silva #4 – Bojan Velickovic #5 – Ildemar Alcantara #6 – Michal Materla #7 – Elvis Mutapcic #8 – Tor Troeng #9 – Jack Hermansson #10 – Tim Ruberg |
#1 – Wagner Prado #2 – Phelipe Lins #3 – Tom DeBlass #4 – Misha Cirkunov #5 – Kyle Cerminara #6 – Robert Drysdale #7 – Artur Alibulatov #8 – Thiago Perpetuo #9 – Steve Bosse #10 – Juha Saarinen |
#1 – #2 – #3 – #4 – #5 – #6 – Ruslan Magomedov #7 – Adam Parkes #8 – Richardson Moreira #9 – Jan Jorgensen 10 – David Oliva |
Ruslan Magomedov vs. Vitaly Yalovenko
Anatoly Nosyrev vs. Ruslan Magomedov
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