Damian Pinas
Land clean in the first five minutes, as he has done eight times in ten professional fights.
Ten wins, ten finishes, eight in the opening round. No fighter on this card has a cleaner record.
The highest figure at this event, at 6.33 significant strikes landed per minute against 3.60.
Against a man who attempts 0.27 takedowns per fifteen minutes. There is no route out of a striking match for Pulyaev.
24 against 29, with two Octagon knockouts in his first five months on the roster.
Nursulton Ruziboev tapped Pulyaev in the first round in June 2026 — the first stoppage against him in thirteen fights.
Small, but it means the taller man cannot simply outrange him.
- 1Start immediately
Eight of ten career wins ended in Round 1. Every minute that passes moves the fight toward the only territory he has never visited.
- 2Use the reach, not the pocket
An inch of reach and 63% accuracy is enough to work from outside; 39% striking defence is not enough to trade inside.
- 3Stay off the fence
Pulyaev puts 22.9% of his first-round offence in the clinch and is three inches taller. The tie-up is the one place Pinas's numbers stop helping.
- 4Attack the body if the head is not there
Pulyaev's output collapses to 9.0 in a third round. Body work is the cheapest way to bring that collapse forward.
- 5Do not chase after the second horn
If the fight is alive at minute ten, the correct move is range and volume rather than a finish he has never had to hunt that late.
- 6Contingency — if Plan A fails
If two rounds pass without a knockdown, Pinas has to accept a decision he has never won and fight for output rather than the finish.


