UFC Vegas 6: Aleksey Oleynik and Omari Akhmedov intention to proceed Russian MMA revolution in pivotal bouts this weekend

With Russia already claiming two UFC champions, each Aleksey Oleynik and Omari Akhmedov look to maneuver one step nearer to including to that quantity as they chase essential victories in Las Vegas on Saturday night time.

With Khabib Nurmagomedov being the unquestioned standard-bearer within the UFC’s light-weight division, and Petr Yan becoming a member of him within the record of champions on “UFC Combat Island” final month, Russia is having fun with a golden age of blended martial arts on the highest degree of the game.

Zabit Magomedsharipov has already begun stoking the flames of a possible title bout with featherweight king Alex Volkanovski which, if profitable, would imply that Russia would maintain all of the gold within the bantamweight, featherweight and light-weight classes.

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 A number of of the heavier weight courses within the UFC stay with out a prime contender from Russia, however that would all change this weekend at UFC Vegas 6, the place heavyweight Aleksey Oleynik and middleweight Amari Akhmedov will tackle two opponents with burgeoning reputations and title bout expertise.

Even at 43-years-old, Oleynik stays some of the perplexing puzzles in heavyweight blended martial arts. A veteran of an astounding 73 skilled fights, he can declare an virtually absurd 46 submissions victories on his resume – a lot of them obtained with the vice-like Ezekiel choke approach, which is among the many most spectacular submission methods in all of blended martial arts. 

Age, although, will not be on his aspect. Now in his 44th 12 months on the planet, Oleynik is aware of that, if he’s to safe the title shot he craves, he can afford completely no slip-ups. However that is simpler stated than performed given his opponent on Saturday night time – the hard-hitting former heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis.

“The Black Beast” has been submitted simply as soon as in his professional profession (in his title defeat to Daniel Cormier) whereas he can even considerably outweigh Oleynik once they step into the cage. It means producing alternatives on the bottom might show tough – although this seems like precisely the kind of problem that has motivated the ‘Boa Constrictor’ all through his in depth profession so far. 

Simply earlier than the principle occasion, one other surging Russian fighter, Omari Akhmedov, might be searching for what could be probably the most high-profile win of his profession when he takes on former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman.

After opening his UFC profession with a Three-Three report (which features a submission defeat to Conor McGregor teammate Gunnar Nelson), the 34-year-old Dagestan native has been undefeated in his subsequent six – together with wins in opposition to veterans Tim Boetsch and Zak Cummings. 

Weidman, although, ought to current a far sterner check. The previous undisputed middleweight champ is probably finest identified for being the person who unsympathetically ended Anderson Silva’s 17-fight win streak seven years in the past. Since then, nonetheless, his kind has floundered, with the previous champion enduring a torrid 1-5 spell in his final six fights, with every of these losses coming by stoppage.

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Defeat for “The All-American” would virtually actually sign the tip of his standing as a top-level performer within the UFC, and it’s a scalp that Ahkmedov could be all too comfortable to take as he hopes to exchange the previous champion and transfer nearer to the highest of the division. 

Occasions are good for Russian MMA. By Sunday morning it may very well be trying even rosier.