Mokaev, Nurmagomedov keep perfect UFC records intact with wins at APEX

The story heading into Saturday afternoon’s UFC Fight Night card from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas was that five undefeated fighters were attempting to remain perfect. Those fighters ended up going 3-2 at the event.

Shamil Gaziev was one of the athletes who had never previously tasted defeat in professional mixed martial arts, however, Jairzinho Rozenstruik assumed the role of heavyweight gatekeeper and the talented kickboxer slammed that door in the face of Gaziev, handing the enormous Bahraini his first loss with a technical knockout after four rounds. 

It became apparent early in the scheduled five-round bout that Gaziev did not have the vast set of striking skills Rozenstruik boasts. Gaziev, 34, landed one takedown in the opening round but could not repeat that success and proceeded to be methodically picked apart by his opponent.

Gaziev’s corner implored their fighter to pursue the takedown heading into the fourth round. After an aggressive early attempt failed, Gaziev continued to gas and get jabbed to pieces. Gaziev informed his corner prior to the fifth and final round that he was having some trouble with his vision and the referee called a stop to the action after 20 minutes. 

Rozenstruik, 35, has not strung together consecutive wins since 2019 but his only losses in the sport have been to top-tier heavyweight contenders.

Saturday’s event marked the first of five UFC events in March.

Flyweight Muhammad Mokaev stayed perfect and inched closer to a title shot with a grinding unanimous decision win over one-time 125-pound title challenger Alex Perez.

The 23-year-old scored one takedown plus at least one minute of ground control in each of the three rounds and set a new personal record for significant strikes landed in a UFC bout. The Dagestan-born fighter had never landed more than 21 significant strikes in the Octagon yet out-struck Perez 47-30 on Saturday.

Alexandre Pantoja said in an interview with MMAFighting this past week he hopes to fight in his native Brazil at UFC 301 in May and the current men’s flyweight champion added he isn’t interested in another fight with Brandon Royval, who beat Brandon Moreno by decision earlier this month.

Pantoja identified Mokaev as a possible next opponent if the youngster were to win on Saturday and not sustain any injuries.

“I’m ready to fight for the belt,” Mokaev responded after getting the nod. 

UFC newcomer Bekzat Almakhan from Kazakhstan nearly shocked the world by rocking Umar Nurmagomedov with a right hand 30 seconds into their 135-pound contest. Nurmagomedov, a massive 14-to-1 betting favourite, recovered and immediately turned to his grappling where it was clear he had a significant advantage.

Nurmagomedov resumed his grappling dominance and took the path of least resistance for the remainder of the bout, racking up 4:21 of first-round control time after being dropped and 11:26 of total control time by the end of the 15-minute scrap. Nurmagomedov out-landed Almakhan 145-5 in total strikes.

Despite the lopsided statistics, Almakhan handled himself well and showed promise considering he was making his UFC debut against one of the more notable prospects on the UFC roster.

Nurmagomedov is now 4-0 in the UFC and 17-0 in MMA. The cousin of former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov said he didn’t see the punch that rocked him and didn’t even realize he was dropped until seeing the replay.

The 28-year-old fighter from Dagestan called for a No. 1 contender’s matchup with Cory Sandhagen in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. Nurmagomedov and Sandhagen were previously scheduled to meet last August but Nurmagomedov withdrew with an injury.

Current men’s bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley will attempt to defend his title next weekend at UFC 299 against Marlon Vera with Merab Dvalishvili expected to face the winner and get the next title shot. A Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov matchup would be an anticipated showdown at 135 pounds if it comes to fruition.

Bantamweight Javid Basharat was the lone unbeaten fighter scheduled to compete on the preliminary card and his unblemished record was ruined by Canada’s Aiemann Zahabi who pulled off the upset via unanimous decision.

In other preliminary action, Vinicius Oliveira knocked out Bernardo Sopaj with a flying knee that will likely be mentioned in the Knockout of the Year conversations later in 2024.

Tyson Pedro announced his retirement following a unanimous decision loss to Vitor Petrino in the co-main event. Pedro retires with a pro-MMA record of 10-5 with notable UFC stoppage wins over Paul Craig and Khalil Roundtree Jr. 

Petrino improved to 11-0 as a pro and 4-0 under the UFC banner after getting his hand raised.

Australia’s Steve Erceg also made a statement by improving to 3-0 at the UFC level, knocking out veteran-ranked flyweight Matt Schnell in the opening bout of the main card.

Erceg connected on a perfectly flush walkaway left hook to earn his first finish in the UFC. Erceg is 12-1 in MMA and hasn’t lost since his second pro bout back in 2017. He called out former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno after his win. Moreno is coming off a five-round decision loss to Brandon Royval last month in Mexico City.