Samandar Murodov, one of the most promising fighters in the welterweight division, had another fight with American Jonathan Piersma (9-3) in the semifinals at the Road to UFC tournament in Las Vegas.
The Tajik fighter eventually won the 11th victory in a row – he won by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) and this is a new record of Samandar – 11-0 (7 finishes).
It's too early to talk about a contract with the UFC after this fight, but anything is possible.
For Murodov, this is the second victory in this tournament – he previously defeated Brazilian Gian Siqueira.
During the entire time of the project, 13 tournaments were held in Road to UFC, where 59 fights took place, in which at least 37 fighters got one victory. Of the 37 fighters, only 10 received a contract with the UFC.
It is believed that it is very difficult to get into the UFC.
"It all depends on the performances, the level of tournaments and, in fact, the fighter himself. It is very difficult to get into the UFC now, because there are too many fighters there, there is a purge, so that you can safely sign newcomers later," – MMA expert Daler Latipov told “Asia-Plus”.
According to him, UFC image makers are careful about choosing fighters, they look at various parameters and nuances.
"It is important for them that a fighter has a good record, and that he has not weak rivals in his career, but at least with an equal track record. They also don't like when there are a lot of draw fights, they need early victories.
There are a lot of guys with a very big record, but they don't get signed. Why? Because some, having a good record, fight with debutants, or those who have an equal number of wins and losses in their careers, or not so many fights at the non-professional level. UFC analysts don't like this," – says Latipov.
Daler Latipov notes that Sean Shelby, Dana White's assistant, is following the "dubious records".
"For example, for dubious tournaments in which a fighter builds up a track record by going up against weak opponents or those who are not experienced in MMA. The record is growing in the case of such victories, but such fighters are being hunted down," the specialist notes.
