Artem Vakhitov (R) (James Law/GLORY)

Around the World Part 3: Top 25 MMA Prospects – Russia

NOTE: Fighters under contract with the UFC, PFL, Bellator, RIZIN FF and ONE Championship will not be included. The order of these fighters are approximate to where they rank overall, although not perfect.

Top 25 Russian Prospects

  1. Islam Omarov (15-0, FW)
  2. Muslim Magomedov (14-0, LHW)
  3. Azamat Kerefov (18-0, FLY)
  4. Rustam Kerimov (20-1, BW)
  5. Yusuf Raisov (21-3, LW)
  6. Amru Magomedov (8-0, LW)
  7. Boris Medvedev (18-2, WW)
  8. Aren Akopyan (17-3-1, FLY)
  9. Alexandr Maslov (11-0, HW)
  10. Magomedrasul Gasanov (20-2, MW)
  11. Azamat Bekoev (18-3, MW)
  12. Adam Bogatyrev (10-3, HW)
  13. Artem Vakhitov (2-1, LHW)
  14. Mehdi Baidulaev (17-2, BW)
  15. Khuseyn Shaikhaev (13-0, BW)
  16. Shamidkhan Magomedov (7-1, WW)
  17. Alikhan Vakhaev (13-3, HW)
  18. Evgeniy Ignatiev (22-2-2, BW)
  19. Grigor Matevosyan (13-4, LHW)
  20. Velimurad Alkhasov (9-1, BW)
  21. Alikhan Suleymanov (16-4, FW)
  22. Andrey Goncharov (17-4, LW)
  23. Kurban Taygibov (14-3, FW)
  24. Salamu Abdurakhmanov (15-3, MW)
  25. Veronika Borisova (6-0, FLY)

Russia has long been a top producer of prospects in MMA, and they still have an abundance of top fighters vying for spots in the top MMA promotions. Their top three prospects are all undefeated in Islam Omarov, Muslim Magomedov and Azamat Kerefov. All of them could compete at the highest levels right now. Aren Akopyan is a good, young prospect in a flyweight division that needs talent like his. He could be a guy that makes a major run in the UFC or elsewhere. Then there is Amru Magomedov, a Khabib Nurmagomedov running mate who is undefeated and is on the come-up. He’s a guy in a couple of years that could be a major problem. Glory Kickboxing World Champion Artem Vakhitov is looking to take the route that Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira took in MMA as a top-level striker looking to take over MMA. Lastly, Azamat Bekoev is the LFA Champion and a guy that has proven he’s UFC ready. All 25 fighters listed here are real threats in their respective divisions.


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