Stepping up on late notice, Bahamondes (17-6, 6-3 UFC) will be
replacing Sameul Sanches and becomes the significant favorite
against 2019 Rizin tourney winner Musayev (22-6, 0-1 UFC). Both
lightweights prefer the knockout of all finishing methods, so
referee Bobby Wombacher will be on guard for as long as this one
lasts. Gloves are touched before they are traded.
The longer Bahamondes keeps to the center of the cage, watching a
low kick go past him so he can offer back a body kick. When
Bahamondes kicks low, Musayev responds with a hard punch.
Bahamondes rattles off a long one-two that shakes up the
Azerbaijani, who slams his shin into the ribs. Bahamondes lands his
own body kick, and Musayev catches it and tries to slug him in the
chops but is out of range. The two feint and fake at one another,
taking turns to engage, but it is Bahamondes who breaks up a
pattern of inactivity with a body kick. Bahamondes just misses with
a head kick, with Musayev seeing it coming and swaying back just
enough. Musayev lets fly a right hand that blows the hair back but
does not connect, and he absorbs a side kick to the stomach.
Bahamondes chips at the front leg and goes high with the second
effort, with Musayev wise to the strikes aimed upstairs.
Musayev swings wildly and knocks out the air around him, and
Bahamondes wades forward and absorbs a right hand. Musayev pushes
forward to tie him up and go for a trip or body lock takedown, and
the lanky Chilean keeps himself on his feet. Musayev dings him with
an elbow, and Bahamondes breaks free with a knee to the stomach.
Bahamondes uses a knee shield to block a body kick, and he slams
his shin into the midsection. Musayev swings for the fences but is
mere inches away from his intended target. Bahamondes chains two
kicks into a spin kick, and Musayev springs away from the worst and
hammers the front calf with a kick. Musayev tries to brawl it out,
and this opens him up to get caught on the way out. Bahamondes
scores cleanly with a pair of punches, and he staves off a caught
kick to a trip and also dodges two big punches aimed at his scalp.
Musayev sells out for a takedown, and when Bahamondes defends with
a guillotine, he falls to his back. Musayev establishes top
position, and the horn sounds. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Bahamondes
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Bahamondes
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Bahamondes

Bahamondes immediately presses the action, and he rushes Musayev
and jacks him in the jaw with a fierce right hand. Bahamondes beats
down on Musayev, and he grabs Musayev and lifts him up to slam him
down, only for Musayev to illegally grab and hold onto the fence
with both hands to stop the slam effort. Bahamondes lights Musayev
up a little more, and he jumps guard with a guillotine choke when
Musayev tries for a desperation takedown. Musayev pops out of the
choke and slashes the Chilean with a vicious elbow that slashes
Bahamondes wide open. Bahamondes snatches up an armbar off his
back, and Musayev leans back to pull himself out of it as a
veritable pool of blood forms below Bahamondes’ head. Musayev rains
down hammerfists on a bloodied Bahamondes, who sways and moves to
defend some of the strikes but cannot avoid all of them. The blood
from Bahamondes allows Musayev to slide out from a second armbar
effort.
Bahamondes sets up a triangle choke when the armbar is not there,
and he nearly rolls himself over but is put on his back again.
Musayev drops himself down and clearly headbutts his opponent in
the face, causing more blood to flow. Rules don’t matter if they
aren’t enforced, and Wombacher is failing Bahamondes in a major
way. Bahamondes attacks with elbows from his back, and Musayev
blasts him in the face with a nasty right hand that shakes
Bahamondes up again. Musayev keeps attacking with ground-and-pound,
and Bahamondes defends by trying for a leglock. Bahamondes lets it
go and turns from side to side, and he tries to lock the
Azerbaijani down and survive the round. The damage is so severe,
blood drips down from Bahamondes head, but he doesn’t mind.
Bahamondes makes to the bell, and he stands back up to get to his
corner and treated by the cutperson. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Musayev
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Musayev
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Musayev

The cut is in a nasty position, but Bahamondes is cleared and the
match continues. Bahamondes still has pep in his step despite the
damage of the previous round, and he blocks a spinning back fist
opener from his opponent. Bahamondes dings Musayev with a heavy
one-two, who takes a funny step back. Bahamondes tosses out a kick
to the body, and he spins with a back elbow that catches Musayev on
the temple. Musayev tanks it and swarms Bahamondes but cannot trap
him against the cage. Bahamondes gets caught on the chin with three
punches, and Musayev sells out for a takedown by scooping up
Bahamondes’ right leg and dumping him to the mat. Bahamondes sits
up but Musayev lords over him, battering him with methodical
ground-and-pound. Bahamondes throws his legs up for a triangle or
an armbar, and he even flirts with a leglock to wrap up Musayev.
The former Rizin fighter takes an elbow or two while smothering his
opponent.
Musayev postures up to rain down strikes every so often, and if
Stirling-Lopes was an 80s slasher picture, then this is a 70s
grindhouse exploitation film with buckets of blood. Bahamondes
slips around to take the back of Musayev, and he wraps a hook
around the back and starts fishing for a rear-naked choke. Musayev
fights the hands and defends against the choke by leaning over, and
Bahamondes slides out the back. Musayev lets him fall over him so
he can unleash a final barrage of ground strikes, and the
blood-drenched battle comes to a close when time elapses. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Musayev (29-28 Musayev)
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Musayev (29-28
Musayev)
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Musayev (29-28 Musayev)
The Official Result
Tofiq Musayev def. Ignacio Bahamondes via Unanimous Decision
(29-28, 29-27, 30-27)

These two fighters were originally scheduled at lightweight but
ended up needing an extra 10 pounds—and it was Orolbai (13-2-1, 2-1
UFC) who was going to end up nearly a whole weight class heavy. To
preserve the match and keep the purses intact publicly, Musayev
(22-5, 0-0 UFC) and his foe agreed to the catchweight at 165
pounds. With a combined 31 finishes in their 35 pro wins, referee
Rich Mitchell is buckled up in the event this one goes to the
stratosphere. There is a shared glove touch before the frenetic
melee commences, but good luck matching the last fight. Both
fighters bounce towards and away from one another, with Orolbai
shooting in for a takedown 15 seconds in. Orolbai lifts his foe up
in the air, but Musayev is able to keep his balance somehow and
catch Orolbai with a short uppercut on the way down. Orolbai
catches a kick, loops a right hand over the top and tackles Musayev
to the floor. Orolbai wrests his shoulder down for a possible
arm-triangle choke, possibly serving as a Von Preux given that
Musayev holds him with a one-armed guillotine that is going
nowhere. Orolbai yanks his neck out, and Musayev uses butterfly
hooks to try and fail to get his off of him. Orolbai settles down
in the guard, trying to wriggle his arms free so he can unload some
offense. The building echoes with Musayev’s name, and Musayev uses
the energy to kick Orolbai off of him for a second. Orolbai lowers
himself back down and takes Musayev’s back. Orolbai gets a hook in
and starts fishing for a choke, and Musayev uses pure muscle to
stand. Orolbai, on the other hand, shows off technique by dumping
Musayev back down to the mat. Musayev hangs on with a guillotine on
the side, cranking it with a single arm but not threatening in any
way. Musayev’s butterfly hooks fail to work this time, but he
deftly scrambles to turn himself around and burst back to his feet.
Musayev grabs his opponent’s gloves, and Mitchell actually pauses
the fight and separates them even though it was Musayev who was
doing the grabbing, and Orolbai protests. The match resumes, and
Orolbai blocks a kick and charges to take Musayev down. Orolbai
takes advantage of the situation as he steps to the side and grabs
hold of Musayev’s left arm. The Kyrgyzstani fighter knows exactly what he is searching for,
gripping a two-on-one wrist lock to isolate the kimura. Orolbai
steps his leg over Musayev’s head and cranks the limb with every
bit of energy he has. Musayev’s face contorts into pain as the
submission is wrecking his arm, with onlookers imagining his
ligaments and tendons straining and snapping like overtuned guitar
strings. Before his shoulder is totally and completely destroyed,
an agonized Musayev surrenders. The crowd is silenced
immediately, with their home country fighter getting finished in
the first round in his UFC debut on home soil. There is a bit of an
unwritten blemish on the victory, as it might have been a different
turn of events if Orolbai could reach the lightweight cap.

Tofiq Musayev

Fight History

Fighter Skills Radar

Key Insights

Striking Profile

Grappling Profile

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Conclusions Summary