LAS VEGAS – UFC lightweight Damir Ismagulov wants to mix it up with strikers, and has his eyes on a fan-favorite former interim champion.
First things first, Ismagulov (24-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has business against Grant Dawson (19-1-1 MMA, 7-0-1 UFC) in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 47. The event takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and airs on ESPN and also streams on ESPN+.
Ismagulov believes a matchup against an exciting striker would help show off his skillset to the UFC fanbase, while also getting away from a string of matchups against opponents who prefer to grapple.
“I would love to fight against stand-up fighters in the UFC, because that could be a fun fight, an interesting, firey fight, and I could get my bonus,” Ismagulov told reporters through an interpreter at Wednesday’s media day. “Really, I’m like (Vasily) Lomachenko, but he’s in boxing and I’m in MMA.”
If Ismagulov can rebound from a loss in his previous outing, a co-main event spot against Arman Tsaruykyan, he would love a future match up with Justin Gaethje, who is set to take on Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 for the “BMF” title. However, the highlight reel means nothing to Ismagulov, who believes he would make things look easy against the former interim UFC lightweight champion.
“Gaethje’s considered to be one of the best strikers in the lightweight division,” Ismagulov said. “He thinks that he’s one of the best. But if I get to fight against him, I’ll play with him like a little kitten. I’ll show him what a Kazakh school of boxing is like. It’s the easy fight for me.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 47.