Since making his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2008, 31 year old Gazhimurad Omarov has built up a perfect 5-0 record fighting as a middleweight, light heavyweight and a heavyweight. Settling in comfortably in the 205lb class, Omarov squares off against the resilient Dmitry Samoilov at M-1 Challenge XXI: Guram vs. Garner this Thursday October 28th in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Omarov, a former Pancrase cup winner and the European Pankration Champion, faced the young Dutchman Nils van Noord in his debut at M-1 Challenge VII. In a tough, grueling contest, neither man could dominate the action, sending a Challenge bout to the overtime round for the first time ever as the Judge’s scorecards were tied. Omarov then dominated the extra frame and took the unanimous decision nod. With a rematch requested by Noord, Omarov agreed; the pair met six months later at M-1 Challenge XIII where Omarov executed a perfect rear-naked choke to end the scrap near the mid-way point of the first round.
In his most recent bout, Omarov faced Lloyd Marshbanks at M-1 Challenge XX, a much larger opponent than any he had previously faced. The longer the battle ensued, it was clear that the Legion Fight Team standout’s training has been improving. Conditioning was in favor of Omarov who began blasting the tired foe late in the third as he lay prone on the canvass. After stood up by the referee, Marshbanks was gassed and unable to hold his hands up or defend himself, leaving the American corner no choice but to throw in the towel and stop the fight.
Omarov is looking to extend his unbeaten streak against Samoilov and should the fight end up on the mat, look for him to drive wicked knees into the body to wear down his foe; should the pair elect to stand, Omarov has shown that he can take a punch, throw heavy looping right-hand bombs and is capable of delivering precision knees to the head and body from an effective clinch. With a considerable size advantage over Samoilov, Omarov is the clear-cut favourite in this clash of local fighters.
Omarov vs. Marshbanks Fight: http://www.mma-core.com/videos/_Gadzhimurad_Omarov_vs_Lloyd_Marshbanks_M_1_Challe?vid=10008089