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Drops tight one in UFC debut
Zhumagulov lost to Raulian Paiva via unanimous decision (28-29, 28-29, 28-29) at UFC 251 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
ANALYSIS
Zhumagulov might have a beef here. He started slowly in his UFC debut before picking up the pace over the final ten minutes. Zhumagulov attempted to lean on his wrestling but managed to land just 2-of-11 takedown attempts. He also did little with the positional advantage in the rare instances in which he was successful. Still, judges generally tend to score a fight in favor of the man who finishes strongly and that was clearly the newcomer. It was a quality effort despite the setback for the 31-year-old. At least he is walking away with 20 percent of Paiva's purse after Paiva missed weight by three pounds on Friday.
Zhumagulov might have a beef here. He started slowly in his UFC debut before picking up the pace over the final ten minutes. Zhumagulov attempted to lean on his wrestling but managed to land just 2-of-11 takedown attempts. He also did little with the positional advantage in the rare instances in which he was successful. Still, judges generally tend to score a fight in favor of the man who finishes strongly and that was clearly the newcomer. It was a quality effort despite the setback for the 31-year-old. At least he is walking away with 20 percent of Paiva's purse after Paiva missed weight by three pounds on Friday.
Opponent misses weight
Zhumagulov will collect 20 percent of Raulian Paiva's fight purse at UFC 251 on Saturday after Paiva missed weight by three pounds, Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Zhumagulov was already a (+150) betting underdog for his UFC debut, and a heavy opponent will be one more factor potentially working against him. Nonetheless, he was able to hit his mark on the scales Friday morning and will get a bit of an extra payday because of it.
Zhumagulov was already a (+150) betting underdog for his UFC debut, and a heavy opponent will be one more factor potentially working against him. Nonetheless, he was able to hit his mark on the scales Friday morning and will get a bit of an extra payday because of it.
Debuting vs. Paiva on Fight Island
Zhumagulov and Raulian Paiva agreed to a flyweight bout July 11 at UFC 251 on Fight Island, Farah Hannoun of USA Today reports.
ANALYSIS
Zhumagulov was previously scheduled to make his UFC debut in his home country of Kazakhstan on June 13 against Jordan Espinosa, but it was one of the many events canceled due to coronavirus. He comes from the Fight Nights Global promotion and has won four straight bouts, while Paiva is coming off a knockout victory over Mark De La Rosa in February.
Zhumagulov was previously scheduled to make his UFC debut in his home country of Kazakhstan on June 13 against Jordan Espinosa, but it was one of the many events canceled due to coronavirus. He comes from the Fight Nights Global promotion and has won four straight bouts, while Paiva is coming off a knockout victory over Mark De La Rosa in February.
Debuting on home soil
Zhumagulov (13-3-0) is in line to face Jordan Espinosa (14-7-0) in a flyweight fight June 13 at UFC Kazakhstan, Nolan King and John Morgan of USA Today report.
ANALYSIS
Fresh off signing with the UFC following a successful run in the Fight Nights Global promotion, Zhumagulov will get the opportunity to make his debut in the Octagon in his homeland. He'll be carrying a four-fight winning streak into the matchup with Espinosa, who has lost in both of his last two fights since defeating Eric Shelton in his promotional debut last March.
Fresh off signing with the UFC following a successful run in the Fight Nights Global promotion, Zhumagulov will get the opportunity to make his debut in the Octagon in his homeland. He'll be carrying a four-fight winning streak into the matchup with Espinosa, who has lost in both of his last two fights since defeating Eric Shelton in his promotional debut last March.