FIRST THINGS FIRST
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Every Tuesday morning I send out a breakdown of the best combat sports action. In less than 10 minutes you'll learn how the top fighters win and anything else fighters, martial artists, and fight fans need to know.
One of the best prospects in MMA headlines his first card this Thursday. Asaf Chopurov is 24 years old, 10-0 as a professional with 9 finishes, and 34-1 as an amateur. He’s an MMA native and we’re going to look at why he’s so good.
What's In Today's Letter?
Who Is The Honey Badger?
Asaf "Honey Badger" Chopurov is an Azerbaijani MMA fighter who was born in Georgia and currently resides in Russia. He debuted as a pro in 2023 after going 34-1 as an amateur.
Chopurov has averaged 5.5 fights per year since he started competing.
Chopurov has finished 9 people with 4 TKOs and 5 submissions. All 5 of those submissions were rear naked chokes. He is a well rounded MMA native that emphasizes fence wrestling fighting and ground and pound.
Today Chopurov trains with Chingiz Allazov. I mainly only write about grappling and grappling related sports so I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t know who Allazov is. He’s easily one of the flashiest and most effective kickboxers alive.
Allazov is a master of throwing strikes as he’s changing his stance.
Allazov is standing orthodox. He measures with a jab. Then he throws a right to the body, left hook, and a left high kick that Jo blocks. Jo steps in to counter with a right. Allazov sneaks in a left hook and a right as he’s shifting back to southpaw. Jo is stunned. Jo throws a left out. Allazov feints, hops in with a left uppercut, right hand, and drops Jo with a knee.
Chingiz Allazov - Jo Nattawut
See what I mean? This is the guy leading Chopurov’s development. Let’s look at what he’s teaching the super prospect.
How Asaf Choporuv Makes The Most Of His Striking
Let’s start with the obvious. Asaf Choporuv has god given power that’s rare for a 135 pound fighter.
Choporuv is standing southpaw. Denis throws a right body kick and a right to the body that miss. Choporuv steps back, throws a left kick, and puts it in front. Now he’s orthodox. He throws a left and a right. He walks up to Denis behind two lefts. Then he drops Denis with a right. Choporuv flurries, Denis spins into an elbow before clinching. Choporuv picks him up to slam him and hop onto his back.
Asaf Choporuv - Denis Lavrentyev
This was Choporuv’s 6th professional fight and Nikita himself is no scrub. He competed internationally in judo before fighting in MMA and was 10-3 going into this fight. Choporuv made the most of stunning Nikita by taking him down and getting straight to a spot he could continue to strike from. That’s veteran savvy you rarely see from a fighter early in their professional career.
But Choporuv isn’t all overhands and power punches. He uses unorthodox spinning attacks like his coach Chingiz Allazov.
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