Sherdog Prospect Watch: Five UFC-Ready Fighters

Musa Khamanaev (15-3)

With a seven-fight winning streak, the M-1 Global lightweight title and victories over notables such as Bellator tournament winner Daniel Weichel under his belt, Chechen powerhouse Khamanaev is poised to take a significant step up in competition. Now training out of a government-supported facility alongside UFC featherweight Zubaira Tukhugov and other skilled fighters in Grozny, the capital city of Chechnya, the seven-year veteran’s time to shine has come.

Khamanaev represents the pinnacle of the distinct type of fighter we have come to expect from the North Caucasus region of Russia, with a well-rounded mixture of looping punches, powerful wrestling and a brutal top game. The Chechen is an outstanding athlete with great explosiveness, strength and power that makes up for his lack of size, at 5-foot-7, relative to other lightweights.

Wrestling is the core of Khamanaev’s game. He has excellent timing on his shots, shows great drive, and finishes with authority. He has excellent timing on his shots, shows great drive, and finishes with authority. He also does a fantastic job of setting up his takedowns with strikes, as he throws high to bring his opponent’s hands out of position and then ducks under for the takedown. The ease with which Khamanaev has been able to take down much larger opponents who are skilled wrestlers in their own right is frankly shocking. Despite his lack of size, Khamanaev is a nasty clinch fighter with the ability to generate tremendous power in his dirty boxing.

From top position, Khamanaev really goes to work. His ground striking is absolutely devastating, and even from inside an active, controlling guard, he can do tremendous damage over the course of a round or two. His passes are solid if not outstanding; his topside submission game is competent; and he possesses particularly nasty heel hooks, one of which he used to wreck a talented grappler in Weichel. If all of that were not enough, his athleticism makes him a top-notch scrambler, as well.

Khamanaev’s range striking is solid and easily good enough to win fights on the feet, but it is not the highlight of his game. He does have power in his hands -- he knocked out veteran Eric Reynolds with nasty right hook-left hook combination on Oct. 4 -- but his looping, well-timed punches mainly serve as a bridge to disguise his takedowns, bring him into the clinch and push his opponent toward the fence or ropes. His lack of height projects as an increasingly serious problem at striking range if he stays at lightweight.

Khamanaev’s time is now. He has a tremendous amount of experience against good regional competition; he is in his physical prime; and his skills are polished and well-rounded. There is every indication that if he drops to featherweight he could be a legitimate top-10 fighter, if not even higher, and at 26, he still has time to improve.

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