Who is Shamil Gaziev?
Shamil Gaziev is an 11-0 heavyweight debuting on the UFC 296 prelims against battle-tested Slovakian, No. 15 Martin "Badys" Buday, currently perfect in the Octagon. The event is headlined by a welterweight championship grudge match between current title holder Leon "Rocky" Edwards and challenger, Colby "Chaos" Covington on Dec. 16 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 33-year-old Gaziev became the first fighter representing Bahrain to sign with the UFC after securing a first-round rear naked choke victory over former CFFC heavyweight champion Greg Velasco at Dana White's Contender Series 63 on Sept. 20.
Despite taking a seasoned opponent like Buday, the Brave CF veteran Gaziev is unlikely to be in over his head as he has extensive experience with some of the world's best MMA camps. He sports seven knockouts and three submissions, only needing the judge's scorecards once. Eight of his finishes came in the first round.
A native of Dagestan, Gaziev was a pupil of legendary coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. He found Nurmagomedov after spending his youth streetfighting and playing volleyball with local teams.
Through training, Gaziev found his true athletic calling and spent his formative years studying martial arts with future stars like Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov. There, he honed his smothering, trademark style of Dagestani wrestling.
Finding amateur success and winning IMMAF medals asserted Gaziev as a prospect on the rise until he took a break from MMA to work as a repair engineer. However, after receiving an offer to train with KHK MMA in Bahrain, Gaziev went pro in 2020 and focused on his fighting career.
Gaziev opened eyes on the regional scene before shining on season seven of Dana White's Contender Series
Gaziev fought mostly under the Brave CF banner before earning the UFC's attention. He uses his 6'4" frame and all 259 of his pounds to dominate clinch exchanges. When striking, Gaziev loves throwing uppercuts and heavy punching combinations before finishing opponents with ruthless ground n' pound.
Conversely, Buday is a DWCS season five alum and picked up his first UFC finish in August 2023 after catching Josh Parisian in a first-round kimura. He's also beaten Jake Collier, Lukasz Brzeski, and fan-favorite Chris Barnett. He rides a twelve-fight winning streak overall and holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He has nine finishes and demonstrates a well-rounded overall game.
Gaziev was a sparring partner of former interim heavyweight champion and current No. 2 ranked contender, Cyril Gane. Given his wealth of experience in all levels of MMA as well as the talent he's spent time in the training room with, Gaziev has a high ceiling in the UFC.
Success for Gaziev at UFC 296 comes down to not falling victim to Buday's clinch strikes and letting him get in a position to work his BJJ. Gaziev must keep Buday on the end of his power punches in hopes of bringing the fight to the ground and overwhelming Buday there.
Will the UFC's latest heavyweight threat be the newly signed and ultra-dangerous Gaziev? Or will Buday hold off the newcomer and keep his ranking? Make sure to watch the UFC 296 prelims and witness these potential heavyweight stars in action.
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