Sadykhov is one of those athletes.
“The Black Wolf” was submitted in the first round of his pro debut but has since put together a 12-fight unbeaten streak, earning six wins in quality regional promotions to earn a chance on Season 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS), where he punched his ticket to the UFC with a third-round finish. Since then, the 31-year-old lightweight, who came up through Team Serra-Longo and now fights out of Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas, has gone 4-0-1, posting a pair of stoppage wins on either side of a majority draw with Viacheslav Borshchev at UFC 295.
Injuries and bad timing conspired to keep him out of action in 2024, but Sadykhov returned with a purpose this year. In February, he warmed into the opening round of his fight with Ismael Bonfim in Las Vegas, blasting the Brazilian with a question mark kick that caused his eye to swell shut and bring the fight to a halt. Four months later, he experienced a truly special moment, returning to his hometown of Baku, Azerbaijan, where he and Nikolas Motta engaged in one of the more entertaining 2-round fights you’re going to see, ending with the local standout getting his hand raised and earning both Fight of the Night honors and Performance of the Night bonuses for his efforts.
A striker with a ton of grit and mettle, if there is one knock on the emerging lightweight it’s that he can be a little slow out of the gates, but once he gets into rhythm, Sadykhov has a juggernaut quality to him where he just keeps coming and coming until his opponents wither and break.
Ziam arrives in Las Vegas having won five straight while also having fallen back into the pack a little in the chase for a place in the Top 15. The 28-year-old fighting out Lyon, France hasn’t competed since February when he beat Mike Davis, and despite his clear development since first arriving in the UFC, “Smile Killer” remains an unheralded threat that could very well halt Sadykhov’s momentum this weekend.
Just as a win over Blachowicz won’t catapult Guskov into a championship fight, a victory on Saturday isn’t necessarily going to launch Sadykhov into the Top-15 in the talent-rich 155-pound ranks, it could put him in a position to battle for a ranked spot in 2026.
Mansur Abdul-Malik
If you’ve been paying attention to this space this year then you know how I feel about the DWCS Class of ’24, which has already amassed a combined 46 victories as UFC rookies with a few of the Season 8 graduates looking capable of being long-term contenders somewhere down the line.
Saturday’s Full Fight Card Preview
Abdul-Malik was one of the first members of last season’s graduating class to step into the Octagon, and 13 months after making his debut, the middleweight prospect returns to action against Antonio Trocoli on Saturday looking to remain unbeaten and register his third UFC victory.
