Mukhamad Vakaev Upsets Evgeniy Goncharov to Win Heavyweight Title at ACA 104
The main event of АСА 104 was the heavyweight championship bout between Evgeniy Goncharov and Mukhomad Vakhaev. It was the first defense of the title Goncharov won after two stirring fights with American Tony Johnson, but also a unification bout of sorts, as Vakhaev was the last man to hold the Absolute Championship Berkut heavyweight strap before the organization was folded into ACA.
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As the outgoing ACB champion, the 28-year-old Vakhaev was supposed to fight Goncharov last March, but due to health problems he was forced to withdraw. Pre-fight interviews featured lots of tension and even trash talk, which is not traditional for fighters from Post-Soviet regions, especially when fighting in this part of the world.
Both Goncharov and Vakhaev are known as heavy-handed punchers, and
the fight played out that way, with both men coming out swinging,
only pausing to occasionally press each other to the fence.
Goncharov threw jabs and overhands non-stop, but only a few of them
were reaching his opponent. Vakhaev was using a wider range of
strikes and blows but they had little apparent effect on Goncharov,
and his takedown attempts proved futile against the decorated
wrestler.
By round three, however, the tide was turning and Goncharov was in serious trouble when the referee stopped the action due to punches to the back of the head. When the fight continued, Vakhaev took Goncharove down again and went for a choke. Everything went unbelievably fast. Goncharov, despite likely being ahead on the cards, was forced to submit seconds before the bell.
It was hard to tell what would have happened if Goncharov had made it to the bell and sent the fight to the championship rounds, but Goncharov appeared to be tiring in either event. “Due to fatigue, I could do nothing by the end of the fight,” Goncharov admitted afterward.
Kerefov Edges out Khatuev for ACA Flyweight Title
The co-main event saw a battle of unbeatens for the flyweight championship, as Mansur Khatuev (8-0) took on the 12-0 Azamat Kerefov. The style matchup was compelling as well, as Kerefov is a wrestler who has picked up an impressive striking game, while Khatuev is a natural kickboxer who has developed into a well-rounded fighter.
The fight was action-paced from the opening seconds. High kicks, low kicks, overhands, knee punches, side punches merged into a hail of strikes from both sides. Both fighters threw with abandon and gave no quarter. Each of them had been pressed to the cage several times but it granted no chance for victory for any of them. Kerefov and Khatuev looked like two racers driving in parallel, and none of them could take a step forward.
In the champion rounds brought more wrestling and grappling exchanges, elbows, kicks and other submission attempts. Much of the fight took place against the cage where the two fighters stood clinching with one another. Kerefov appeared to pull away in the fourth and fifth rounds with his greater volume and accuracy, and secured a strategic takedown late in the fifth. In the end, Kerevov, now 13-0, won the match—and ACA flyweight belt—by unanimous decision.
Bagov Blanks Townsend in Welterweight Debut
Ali Bagov, also known as “The Hulk,” abandoned his ACA lightweight belt belt to transfer to the welterweight division and his hunt for a second title got off to a good start against Adam Townsend. Bagov employed his wrestling from the outset, but Townsend proved resilient in the early going, turning away several of Bagov’s shots and promptly getting back up when Bagov did succeed in taking him down. By the end of the first round, however, Bagov had taken Townsend down, passed to mount, and might have finished the American if not for the bell.
In the second round, Bagov resumed dominating, but this time on the feet. By the end of Round 2, Townsend had taken dozens of clean punches and was clearly falling behind, though he never stopped returning fire. Townsend did well throughout the fight to defend himself, but was never in control and never offered much to threaten Bagov, who won the unanimous decision, sweeping all three rounds. Townsend left his gloves in the cage afterwards, signifying his retirement from fighting.
Dudaev Defeats Meshev in Bantamweight Title Eliminator
Another interesting fight took place between Islam Meshev and Abdulrakhman Dudaev. With his last victory over top ACA fighter Oleg Borisov, Meshev bounced back from his defeat at the hands of former champion Rustam Kerimov. Now his goal is to regain his former positions back and make one more effort to get the champion’s belt. The winner of this particular fight will gain the opportunity to claim to the final champion fight. Abdulrakhman is very experienced and takes the first rating position in ACA. He has 23 victories and 5 defeats when Meshev only has 9 fights and 2 defeats.
The first round saw the two bantamweights engage in a frenetic standup battle. Dudaev landed a few good roundhouse kicks, but his punches mostly fell short of the mark. In Rounds 2 and 3, Meshev took Dudaev down several times but each time he was able to return to his feet quickly. After three close rounds, Dudaev won the fight via unanimous decision, setting himself up for a presumptive shot at the ACA bantamweight title later this year.
Frolov Celebrates Son’s Birth with KO of PFL Vet Santos
Middleweight Artem Frolov, who entered the cage with a 12-2 record including wins over such UFC veterans as Joe Riggs, Caio Magalhaes and Luigi Fioravanti, looked to bounce back from the first two losses of his career. His opponent, UFC and PFL veteran Bruno Santos, was seeking to right the ship after his own unsuccessful ACA debut last fall.
Santos was visibly the larger man, but Frolov repeatedly denied him he chance to take advantage of it, turning aside the Brazilian’s takedown and clinch attempts with superior speed and footwork. Time after time, Frolov kicked the Brazilian in the head as he charged. In round two, he repeatedly tagged Santos with punches, one of which put him down for good at 2:56.
In his post-fight interview, an emotional Frolov, tears in his eyes, told the audience that his wife had given birth to their son that very night.
Bimarzaev Outlasts Polupudnikov
Featherweight contenders Apti Bimarzaev and Alexey Polpudnikov faced off in a likely title eliminator. Bimarzaev carried an 11-fight win streak into the cage, while Polpudnikov brought in a reputation for punching power worthy of his mentor, Alexander Shlemenko. Bimarzaev would taste that power in the first round, as Polupudnikov knocked him down right before the bell.
In the second round, Polpudnikov pursued his opponent with heavy strikes again, and Bimarzaev elected to bring the fight to the ground rather than continue to absorb the barrage of punches and kicks. Once there, he worked for a variety of chokes from a front headlock, but Polpudnikov succeeded in fighting his hands off. Round three offered more of the same, and Polpudnikov was clearly exhausted by the end. The judges awarded the fight to Bimarzaev (16-3) by split decision, dropping Polpudnikov to 29-6 overall.
Khasbulaev Tops Makashvili in Clash of Western Promotion Vets
The icing on the cake of the АСА 104 main card was M-1 Global and Bellator MMA legend Magomedrasul Khasbulaev taking on UFC veteran Levan Makashvili. Khasbulaev is a student of head coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, a former Bellator grand-prix winner, a cousin of UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and a top contender for the ACA featherweight belt. With champ Felipe Froes out of commission, however, Khasbulaev elected to stay active with the Makashvili matchup.
Both men came out firing, landing hard body shots in the early going. Khasbulaev began to pull away, however, mixing in a variety of low and high kicks that Makashvili was unable to answer. Perhaps sensing he had lost the first round, the Georgian increased the pace in Round 2, attacking with quick long jabs, but continued to get the worst of the striking. Makashvili attempted to bring the fight to the ground from the clinch, then with a standing kimura, but Khasbulaev resisted all takedown efforts.
In round three, Khasbulaev took the grip of his opponent’s leg, took him down and threatened with submissions. Makashvili swept and escaped to his feet, where he landed a groin strike that gave both men a breather. After three competitive rounds, Khasbulaev took the unanimous decision, moving to 32-8 and keeping his place in the ACA featherweight hierarchy intact.
Prelims: Kokov Shocks Magomadov
Out of the 11 preliminary fights, the most outstanding one was probably the featherweight scrap between Viskhan Magomadov and Mukhamed Kokov. Magomadov, a veteran of ACA and ACB, spent half a round busting Kokov up with a variety of strikes. Within minutes, Kokov’s face was covered with blood, one of his eyes was swollen nearly shut and it seemed that the fight would end soon. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Kokov secured a takedown, took Magomadov’s back and applied a rear-naked choke, eliciting the tap, and the stunning come-from-behind win, at 3:37 of Round 1.
Also of note was the prelim between Maycon Silvan and Goga Shamatava. Shamatava, the main event winner at ACA 103 last December, took the Brazilian down early off of a caught kick. After a brief sequence on the ground, Silvan was able to return to his feet, but was bleeding profusely from a gash opened by a Shamatava elbow. It was obvious the fight would not be able to continue indefinitely with the injury, so Shamatava appeared to relax, contenting himself with staying away and pot-shotting his wounded foe. However, Silvan was able to get inside on Shamatava where he slapped on a lightning-fast guillotine. Shamatava was unable to escape, and forced to tap out at 4:14 of the first round.
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