The long win streak of one of these talented Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweights will come to an end this June.
On Thursday morning, MMA Fighting first reported that Damir Ismagulov (23-1) would be squaring off with Guram Kutateladze (12-2) on June 18. The two lightweights will toe the line at a UFCFight Night card on that date, and no location has been made official but it might be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas if there is not another domestic destination on the books. News of this matchup has since been confirmed by Ismagulov on his Instagram stories page.
Winner of his last 18 bouts, Russia’s Ismagulov has rattled off four straight unanimous decision wins inside the Octagon since debuting with the company in 2018. Long layoffs have slowed what could otherwise be considered an extremely promising career, as he has notched wins over the likes of Joel Alvarez and Thiago Moises working his way through the division. Ismagulov was booked at the end of October 2021 against Magomed Mustafaev, but after substantially missing weight, the fight was scratched.
Kutateladze and his nine-fight win streak will meet Ismagulov in the center of the cage in June. The Georgian made a splash in his promotional debut in October 2020 when he snagged a split decision over fellow hyped debutant Mateusz Gamrot, who himself came into their clash with an 18-fight unbeaten streak. Fighting out of Allstars Training Center, Kutateladze won a few times under the Brave Combat Federation banner before getting signed by the organization in 2020. Neither man has suffered a defeat since 2015.
The UFC Fight Night card on June 18 does not currently have a venue or city set, although the UFC’s fallback plan of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas will always be available if need be. There is currently no headliner official, and Ismagulov-Kutateladze is one of the higher-billed fights on the card thus far. Other scraps include a trio of middleweight matchups, when Julian Marquez faces Wellington Turman, Kyle Daukaus takes on Roman Dolidze and Phil Hawes finally gets to throw down with Deron Winn.
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