"It was Topuria pressing forward early, and through the first couple of minutes, he displayed a well-timed jab to go with that aggression. Almakhan, however, took Topuria off his feet with a well-placed leg kick, and moments later came very close to catching him with a knee. Undeterred, Topuria marched forward, with Almakhan circling to the side, back to the fence. In a clinch, just under two minutes on the clock, Topuria landed a throw, getting on top, in guard, with ample time to work."
"Flowing like water, Topuria moved into mount almost instantly. No slouch on the ground, Almakhan was able to scramble, and while Topuria briefly took the back, the Kazakh soon escaped. Round two saw more stand-up action, with Almakhan again targeting the legs. Again in this round, he hobbled Topuria, who didn't go down, but came close off a crisp kick about three minutes in."
"Topuria continued to walk down Almakhan in round three, whose nose had a Rudolph-colored tinge to it after being cracked again and again. Bekzat continued to circle on the outside, but any counters he fired tended to be either ineffective, or just hit air as Topuria slipped away. Almakhan would change things up late in the round, changing levels for his own takedown attempt only for Topuria to scramble free."
Aleksandre Topuria, with seven professional fights, faced Bekzat Almakhan, who had double that experience, in a bantamweight contest at UFC Qatar. Topuria pressed the action early, landing a well-timed jab before being rocked by a leg kick and nearly caught with a knee. Topuria responded with a clinch throw and moved to mount, though Almakhan scrambled free. In round two Almakhan targeted the legs, hobbling Topuria, but Topuria kept advancing, found his range and bloodied Bekzat. In round three Topuria continued to walk him down, neutralizing counters and scrambling off a late takedown attempt before clinching in the final 30 seconds.
Read at Cageside Press
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