The UFC bantamweight division may have found its new bogeyman at UFC 315.
From Montreal, Canada, UFC 315 kicked off with 12 fights on Saturday night, headlined by two title fights: Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena and Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fiorot.
The first fight of the night took place at 135lbs as two-time ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ champion Brad Katona looked to return to the win column at home.
Standing in the Canadian’s way was an 0-1 Bekzat Almakhan, who had lost his promotional debut to then undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov, champion Merab Dvalishvili’s last title challenger.
Almakhan notably dropped Nurmagomedov in the first 30 seconds of their fight last year but was unable to find the finish.
The Kazakhstan native wouldn’t have the same problem in his sequel fight against Katona, knocking him out in a little more than a minute for Katona’s first KO defeat.
Bekzat Almakhan sends chilling message to bantamweight division
At 27 years old with a 12-2 record, Almakhan finally won on the world’s biggest stage, announcing himself to the division.
As someone who went three rounds with Umar Nurmagomedov on short notice, Almakhan doesn’t think his fellow bantamweights will be lining up to fight him after this performance.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Almakhan said at the UFC 315 post-fight press conference.
“This is just the beginning for me. I’m still very young. I have time to develop myself, to hone my skills.
“God knows that this I’m gonna be a nightmare for this division,” Almakhan continued.
“Everybody’s gonna be afraid of me. I’m gonna make sure to blast through this division…”
Bekzat Almakhan is asked if he’d beat Umar Nurmagomedov on a full camp
When Bekzat Almakhan got the call to fight the 16-0 Umar Nurmagomedov in March 2024, he wasn’t even signed to the UFC.
Almakhan and top contender Cory Sandhagen were the only fighters willing to fight Nurmagomedov last year. Signed to the UFC for Nurmagomedov, Almakhan almost capitalized on the opportunity of a lifetime, knocking down the undefeated fighter in the opening 30 seconds of round 1.
The rest of the fight was one-way traffic for Nurmagomedov, although he couldn’t finish Almakhan en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Following Almakhan’s win over Katona, some fans wondered how Almakhan would have done against Nurmagomedov with a full training camp.
“I don’t wanna think about the past,” Almakhan said, when asked if he would’ve beaten Nurmagomedov on a full camp.
“It happened the way it happened.
“I know that things could have been different. A lot of things could have been different. We didn’t have a full camp, but it is what it is. It already happened.
“I don’t want to dwell on the past,” Almakhan said.