One surging lightweight prospect kept his bold goals intact with an impressive UFC Baku showing.
The first-ever UFC event to take place in Azerbaijan was certainly a mixed bag.
Those who stayed in the arena and weren’t among the fans leaving before the UFC Baku main event didn’t exactly go home happy after a clash between Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr that was widely called lackluster.
And the card opened in similar fashion, as the Azerbaijani locals had to sit through seven consecutive decisions to kick off the night.
Thankfully, the first finish was well worth the wait, and it came from one of the host nation’s own.
Nazim Sadykhov extended his unbeaten streak to 12 at UFC Baku
In the second fight of the main card, Nazim Sadykhov made a splash in front of his home fans.
The lightweight prospect recovered from an early scare in round one to batter Nikolas Motta unconscious with a brutal combination in round two.
The devastating finish and entertaining fight were so impressive that it netted both Sadykhov and Motta rare $100,000 bonuses, as they earned Fight of the Night honors and collected Performance of the Night checks too.
While it was a nice consolation for the defeated Brazilian, there’s no doubt ‘Black Wolf’ will be returning home the happier of the two, having extended his undefeated streak in MMA to 12 straight fights.
Nazim Sadykhov keeps hope of Khabib Nurmagomedov-esque streak alive at UFC Baku
With the result, Sadykhov recorded a first UFC win on home soil and continued his push toward the lightweight top 15. And he also advanced a more ambitious and bold goal in MMA.
During a fight week interview with E. Spencer Kyte for UFC.com, Sadykhov set his sights on what would be an unprecedented 30-fight undefeated streak, putting him above Khabib Nurmagomedov’s unbeaten run.
“It’s something that crept up out of nowhere, but now I defend it like it’s my turf,” Sadykhov said. “I am now a fighter with an 11-fight (12 after UFC Baku) unbeaten streak.
“That’s an impressive record; those are rare in MMA. So I’m looking to keep growing that and see how far it can go. Let it be a 30-fight unbeaten streak and then retire.
“It means a lot. I worked for those results. I dug deep in fights. There have been fights where they’ve been close and I’ve dug deep — 20, 30 seconds left in the third round and I finish the fight; that’s happened a few times.
“I’ll guard it with my life,” Sadykhov added.
Such an accomplishment would surpass the iconic run of Nurmagomedov, who won 29 fights in a row before retiring undefeated in 2020.