Over the past several years, Central Asians have started making their mark in the UFC, with talented fighters pouring through from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, though a championship belt in the men’s divisions continues to elude them. Given Shavkat Rakhmonov’s tragic history of injuries, it likely falls to the next generation of Central Asian prospects to hit that milestone. There’s a lot of impressive prospects competing for a top spot, and the regional scene in that part of the world tends to produce strong, well-rounded fighters by hitting them with impressive competition early and often. But few look as poised to excel at a high level as Razhabali Shaidullaev.
Still only 26 years of age, Shaidullaev spent the past few years tearing through Rizin’s Featherweight division, overwhelming opponents with his skillful and ferocious grappling. He came up in a regional scene full of strong wrestlers, competing several times in the feeder league to ACA, Russia’s premiere organization. That experience has prepared him to roll through all but the best opponents in his time with Rizin.
Shaidullaev bears the trademark style of Central Asian fighters, the in-and-out bouncing footwork, explosive distance-closing attacks, and frenzied transitional striking. There’s more to him than that, however. He’s a monster athlete who can close in at lightning speed, hulk his opponents to the mat, and shut their lights off on the feet or on top. He also possesses a rare depth to his top game, where most of his compatriots excel more in transition than on the mat.
Striking
At a glance, Shaidullaev’s skillset on the feet bears some resemblance to former Bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili. He sets up just outside jabbing range and feints in and out before covering the gap in quick, explosive bursts. Once he has his man on the ropes, his offense opens up and he starts swarming, teeing off with flurries that set up his transitional attacks and takedowns.
Shaidullaev’s main weapon is lightning fast rear hand thrown from a bit farther away than expected. He’ll sometimes jab into it with surprising speed, but often bites down at long range and lets himself fall forward into the blow, covering vast distances before his opponents can react.
His rear hand is often overextended for a traditional punch, sending his momentum far forward of his feet, and necessitating a shift to catch his weight as his rear foot drifts forward. In certain circumstances overextending can be a grave error that leaves one open to counters, but it suits Shaidullaev’s goal of getting inside as fast as possible from far away.
Often more traditional boxers struggle with the distance involved in an MMA fight, their jabbing hand tipping off the opponent to slide back as they attempt to close in with their feet underneath them. By being willing to leave his stance and just fire off his rear hand, Shaidullaev makes himself very difficult to strand on the outside even if he accepts some risk in return.
Since he spends lots of time outside immediate punching range, kicks fit naturally into Shaidullaev’s style. He makes effective use of stabbing front kicks and round kicks that land with the ball of his foot, often thrown after his blitzes to punish opponents backing away or to intercept them as they re-engage. But the main role his kicks serve is as a setup tool for his hands:
When Shaidullaev kicks, he’s always thinking about how the kick can create an opportunity for some chaos, taking him right into an exchange or transitional moment where he can run up the score. Heavy leg kicks punt opponents off balance for his punches or draw them into countering, where Shaidullaev is ready to sit down on combinations and overwhelm them with speed and power. Body kicks close distance for his rear hand, and even the odd spinning kick is an opportunity to take ground and smack a retreating opponent while they’re out of position.
The end goal of Shaidullaev’s striking process is to work his opponent back to the ropes or cage and unload on them.
He’ll typically initiate his swarming attack with a long right hand that squares him up and leaves his opponent with nowhere to circle out, before chasing them with a nonstop flurry until they either fall down or open up their hips for a takedown. It’s a bet that the intensity of his offense and his superior ring position will give him enough of an advantage to unload safely, and while his square positioning invites hard counters, it also allows him to occupy both exit routes and get his hands on the opponent if they try to circle away.
Shaidullaev has a great sense of where he is in the ring or cage, which aids both in cutting his opponents off and turning undesirable positions to his advantage.
One of the classic ways to hunt takedowns for wrestlers uncomfortable either pressuring or setting up open-space shots is to back up to the cage, shoot, and turn their opponent. Shaidullaev isn’t purposely backing himself up, but when he finds himself on the backfoot, he’s always thinking about how he can reverse the position and create an opportunity to swarm or shoot.
Wrestling & Transitions
Once Shaidullaev gets his hands on an opponent there’s often little they can do to avoid being taken down or overwhelmed on the inside. While he does his most consistent work on the ropes, he knows how to set up takedowns in open space and punches into them well enough to hide his intentions.
Shaidullaev’s right hand lead is particularly effective against southpaws, where the clashing lead legs make for awkward traditional penetration steps. He instead lets his rear leg drift forward on the punch and takes a shifting penetration step, stepping into the same stance as his opponent where he can place his right foot inside their stance.
The speed and power of Shaidullaev’s punches force opponents to respect the threat, often convincing them to back away, which limits their ability to hip into the takedown to stop its momentum. Shaidullaev shifts forward and drives through onto their legs where the finish is easy, or lets his rear hand carry him directly into an underhook to hit a takedown from the clinch.
With his opponent on the ropes, the entry becomes easier as there’s less distance to close, and Shaidullaev can hammer them while stepping right into position to lift.
Shaidullaev is a quality wrestler in both his entries and finishes, but what truly stands out about his wrestling is his incredible physicality. He’s regularly able to ignore his opponent’s underhook and power right through it, and he lifts his foes head over heels with seemingly little effort.
Shaidullaev’s strength was especially impressive against AJ McKee, himself an outstanding athlete. Shaidullaev entered in a poor position to finish the takedown, McKee’s underhook pulling him off the legs, but he drove himself down hard enough to lower it and lock hands around the underhook to lift McKee overhead.
Shaidullaev is more of a power takedown guy than a tricky, finesse-based wrestler, his reliable but bare bones entries serving just enough to get him where he needs to be to power through the takedown. Few opponents can stop the initial shot, but he does have some tricks up his sleeve against more advanced defensive wrestlers.
