How an uppercut and a ban led Bekzod Abdurakhmonov to Olympic greatness and back to MMA

Bekzod Abdurakhmonov’s journey through the world and through life changed with a single uppercut, so it makes sense he’d close his career while trying to throw a few more.

After six years away from MMA competition, Abdurakhmonov (7-0) returns to once against test his hand in the fight world. He reenters the game an even more highly touted prospect than when he stepped away from combat sports, as he returns with an Olympic medal in his possession.

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Abdurakhmonov lives in Watertown, Mass., less than 10 miles west of Boston. He’s lived in the United States since 2007,  and his brother is a longtime Harvard University wrestling coach. Abdurakhmonov volunteers with the team, as well.

But how Abdurakhmonov ended up in the U.S. is unusual. According to Abdurakhmonov, he was banned from the Uzbekistan wrestling community after he knocked out an opponent who refused to stop slapping him.

“My first match of the tournament was against a guy from Bukhara,” Abdurakhmonov recently told MMA Junkie. “There were a lot of his friends and family there. We were wrestling, and he slapped me one time. … Then, he did it again. After the second time, I was like, ‘Yo, you’ve got to stop doing this. If you do that again, I will punch you.’ I literally warned him during the match. He did it again. I stepped back and uppercutted him from the ground up. He was out cold.”

Abdurakhmonov paid the price. His wrestling career temporarily took a hit. He moved to Massachusetts to live with his brother, who eventually convinced coaches at Colby Community College in Colby, Kan., to take a chance on him.

“That’s how I ended up in the States, which was for the better,” Abdurakhmonov said.

Around 2013, Abdurakhmonov’s wrestling pursuit was in a period of uncertainty. He was too big for 65kg and too small for 74kg. While Abdurakhmonov still competed, his weight class wasn’t yet in the Olympics, so he turned to MMA to keep him busy competitively.

At the time, Sityodtong was the power house gym in New England. Under kru Mark DellaGrotte and others, Abdurakhmonov compiled six finishes in seven wins.

“In my mind I was doing well,” Abdurakhmonov said. “I was like, ‘If I’m inexperienced and I’m doing well with these guys, imagine if I do it two or three or five years down the road once I get all the experience. I can do a lot of damage.’ I thought because of the wrestling damage, MMA is much easier to do.”

Eventually, 70kg became an option for Abdurakhmonov, who repositioned himself on the track toward Olympic notoriety.

Fast forward to 2023. Abdurakhmonov is a two-time Olympian, who competed in the 2016 and 2020 games, acquiring national and international notoriety each time. In 2016, he came up short of a medal but turned heads when he tech-falled American favorite Jordan Burroughs.

The win was calculated, so much so that Abdurakhmonov was willing to suffer a loss to Burroughs to win one when it truly mattered. Abdurakhmonov tracked Burroughs and other high-level wrestlers to purposely match up with them in non-Olympic international competitions. In 2015, Burroughs defeated Abdurakhmonov who in turn used it to avenge the loss when it matter most.

“I knew that going to the Olympics, I have to wrestle someone for the first time to do better next time,” Abdurakhmonov said. “… Then I knew how to wrestle him. I had to feel. You watch film, it’s one thing. But when you actually wrestle that person, it’s different. It changes everything. You feel it. From there, I was training for him. In practice, I’d do a couple of moves, how to get his legs. If he shakes, what do I have to do? I was prepared.

“… I didn’t know what to expect if I wrestled him or how strong he was. People said he was strong, but I didn’t know how strong he was and how explosive he was and what he does. So good thing I was in Germany. The first thing he did on the whistle was blast right through me. He did his double leg – what he does best. Then, for the next Olympics, I was ready to go from the first second. But if I didn’t wrestle him before, what if he did that in the Olympics? That would be game-changing, too. It could be different.”

While the win over Burroughs was huge, Abdurakhmonov lost a bronze medal-clinching match that concluded his first Olympic run. He was crushed.

“I lost 7-6,” Abdurakhmonov said. “I was heartbroken. You train so long and you lose by one point. You end up not getting any medals, so I was heartbroken. For 2021, you had to train five more years to get the medal. It was good. We had some obstacles on the way because of COVID and a bunch of other stuff. But essentially we stayed focused and trained properly. I was just excited to be there. I had a good team behind me, and I was 100 percent ready to go. Everything worked out well for me.”

For the next five years, Abdurakhmonov kept this pain with him as he trained. In 2021, he rid himself of the demons when an elusive bronze medal became his.

“It’s the best feeling I think there is,” Abdurakhmonov said. “I was telling my friends, if someone offered me one bronze in the Olympics for your five gold medals in the World Championships, I would switch right away. The Worlds happen every year, but the Olympics are a different level. If you win the World Championships, the wrestling community will know you. If you win the Olympics, the whole country knows you. It’s an honor. It’s such a blessing to represent your country in high-level wrestling and medal. You come back the king.”

With an Olympic medal in his possession, Abdurakhmonov is in his final cycle as a wrestler. He will try to qualify for the next Olympic games. But with the light at the end of the wrestling tunnel visible, Abdurakhmonov turns his attention to another avenue – especially after seeing one of his fellow Penn State wrestling pals succeed in the UFC.

“When I watched Bo Nickal, he was an influence in this,” Abdurakhmonov said. “I was part of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. I would train with Bo and all of them every day. I knew he was training, and I knew he was part of the UFC. After the last fight he did, he crushed it. Two fights, and he’s in the UFC on the main card? He’s good, don’t get me wrong. He’s really good. I’ve seen these wrestler guys in the UFC. If they can do it, I can do it. I’ve been training with some UFC guys, and I just run through them. If they can fight, then I can definitely fight.”

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For the first time in six years, Abdurakhmonov returns to the cage Friday at Combat FC 4 in Wilmington, Mass. The event takes place on UFC Fight Pass with featured fights on Facebook. Abdurakhmonov takes on Brazil’s Derik de Freitas (7-5).

The road is already mapped out. Abdurakhmonov wants two fights as he winds down his wrestling career before he makes the jump to the UFC.

There’s an exception, however. If the UFC has an open Aug. 19 slot for UFC 292 in Boston, Abdurakhmonov said he will jump at the opportunity to fight on adopted home soil.

“Either way, I fight every day in practice, in training,” Abdurakhmonov said. “Even if they offered me the UFC in August, I’d be ready to go. Ideally, if the UFC offers it to me, I’d love to fight in October in Abu Dhabi. I’d have enough time to get more rounds in. But for my preference would be two fights and then UFC because I haven’t fought in a long time. For me, it’s 50-50. I think I should get two fights and then go to the big show. Or I could get only one fight in because I’ve been doing this every day in practice. We have sparring days of five, five-minute rounds. It’s the same thing in the cage. It’s almost the same thing.

“Either way, I’m ready to go. Whoever and whenever they offer it to me, if things are right, we’ll go and get a win.”