Khadis Ibragimov is a 23-year-old light heavyweight standout from Russia. Ibragimov began his professional career just over a year ago but has quickly climbed the ranks since. He is scheduled to fight for the light heavyweight title at M-1 Challenge 96.
Ibragimov first burst on to the scene after he scored an upset submission over the experienced veteran Stephan Puetz as a short-notice replacement. In his next fight, he faced off against another seasoned opponent, Giga Kukhalashvili, in a bizarre fight which ended after Kukhalashvili was disqualified for repeatedly grabbing the ropes.
As is the case with many Russian fighters, Ibragimov started out in combat sambo, winning the European Combat Sambo Championship in 2016. He also scored a knockout over current UFC fighter Sultan Aliev en route to a silver medal at the Russian Combat Sambo Championship in 2016.
Training out of Sambo-Piter, Ibragimov enjoys a number of quality training partners. Most notable among these are fellow sambo standouts Mikhail Mokhnatkin and Denis Goltsov, both of whom made a successful transition from combat sambo to MMA.
Strengths
Clinchwork
Given his background, Ibragimov predictably does his best work in the clinch: he particularly excels at taking his opponents down with spectacular throws. This is most evident in his fight with Stephan Puetz in which he successfully executes several judo throws.
Opportunistic Submissions
In his fight with Puetz, Ibragimov often threatened with a bulldog choke when the opportunity presented itself. Although Puetz defended the first couple of attempts without much trouble, Ibragimov did eventually catch his opponent and force him to tap.
Composure
Ibragimov had only experienced two professional fights when he got the call to face the former M-1 light heavyweight champion Stephan Puetz. Despite the massive gap in experience, Ibragimov proved he belonged in the same ring as his esteemed opponent. In fact, Ibragimov is used to upsetting the odds as even in his combat sambo career he was no stranger to beating more experienced opponents, for example, the aforementioned fight with Sultan Aliev.
Conditioning
Both of Ibragimov’s M-1 fights made it to the third round; neither of them were light work. The Puetz fight was largely spent in the clinch, with the German actively trying to score takedowns. However, Ibragimov defended well and did not fold under pressure like many of Puetz’s former opponents.
The Kukhalasvili fight was also a tough fight for the 23-year-old. Ibragimov was unable to secure the clinch for a better part of the first eight minutes and was largely outworked on the feet. Ever-perseverant, Ibragimov stuck to his game plan and eventually got to the clinch and controlled Kukhalashvili for the duration of the bout, forcing him to grab the ropes several times en route to being disqualified.
Fight IQ
Ibragimov is under no illusions about his skill set: he knows that he needs to clinch with his opponent and aims to do just that. Although this approach is predictable and can be exploited, it does show good self-awareness on the young fighter’s behalf. Eventually, he will have to adapt when he faces fighters who will be better prepared for prolonged clinch battles. Perhaps implementing more clinch striking as well as traditional wrestling takedowns in order to keep his opponents guessing will serve Ibragimov well in the future.
Power
Despite his two biggest wins resulting from his grappling, Ibragimov does possess formidable power in his hands. This is evident from his combat sambo fights in which he knocked out several of his opponents. In the final of the 2016 European Combat Sambo Championship, Ibragimov was down on points but was able to score a crucial knockdown to turn the contest on its head and go on to win the gold medal.
Weaknesses
Can be Controlled in the Clinch
Even though Ibragimov is most at home in the clinch, Puetz had success controlling him there for large segments of the fight. Ibragimov was not particularly troubled by it, but being controlled in such a manner allows his opponents to score points. In the future, it would benefit Ibragimov to be more urgent in clinch positions by looking for takedowns and striking to avoid being stalled.
Lack of Control on the Ground
In his last two fights, Ibragimov was unable to control his opponents on the ground for a significant amount of time. This can be a problem as his style is largely focused around clinch takedowns. Taking down an opponent just for him to get straight back up can be extremely draining both physically and mentally, especially at upper-limit weight classes. Ibragimov should look to implement a more controlling ground game which would allow him to catch his breath as well as score points on the judges’ scorecards.
Wild Striking
As previously mentioned, Ibragimov clearly has power in his hands. However, his striking is largely a means to an end: the clinch. On the outside, Ibragimov does not possess many weapons and prefers to brawl his way into the inside with looping punches. This leaves him vulnerable to counters as well as being outworked by more seasoned strikers from the outside.
Future
Ibragimov is still an extremely raw fighter with a lot of holes in his game. However, this is to be expected of somebody that has only had four professional fights. His talent is evident and he has shown that he is able to compete with and beat high-level regional opposition. It almost seems unfair to compare him to other 4-0 prospects because he has faced a much higher calibre of competition, which has naturally exposed his flaws in a more unforgiving manner.
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Should he beat Dimitriy Mikutsa and become the M-1 Global light-heavyweight champion, Ibragimov will be one step away from the big show due to the recent partnership between M-1 and the UFC. However, I believe that Ibragimov should look to hone his skills in Russia for a few more years before taking the step up.