Ares FC 23: Begai vs. Yakhyaev Results

Ares FC is fast becoming a legitimate competitor as one of the top regional promotions in all of Europe, and is back with another title fight on Thursday afternoon.

France’s own Paulin Begai is set to take on unbeaten Abdulrakhman Yakhyaev of Turkey for the vacant light heavyweight championship at the top of a six-fight card.

Fight fans can catch Ares FC 23: Begai vs. Yakhyaev streaming live on UFC Fight pass beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.

Vacant Light Heavyweight Championship — Begai vs. Yakhyaev

One theme for this card might be the representation of Chechen fighters who have relocated to other countries throughout Europe as a home base for training. Yakhyaev is 4-0, and while 4-0 fighters are typically untested at that point in their careers (in most cases), the Turk , he did take the “zero” from a 7-0 Nikolay Kovalenko on the Turkish regional scene. Kovalenko is a fighter known for his Judo, and Yakhyaev was able to neutralize him over three rounds and win a decision.

Time will tell if he can shut down a local favorite in Begai. “Le Chaat” is 5-2, but has won his last two fights and will present an interesting stylistic puzzle for the Turk to solve. He is 6-foot-5, making him comparable in size to fighters such as Alexander Gustafsson, and trains at the MMA Factory under Fernand Lopez, a gym filled with talented strikers in heavier weight classes such as Ciryl Gane at heavyweight and Nassourdine Imavov at middleweight.

Even still, Yakhyaev is still just 23 years old and with almost 18 months since his last fight, he will almost assuredly present the best version of himself in the cage on Thursday.

Rest of the Card

Originally an eight-fight card, Ares FC 23 lost two fights in the build-up to this show: Sierra Dinwoodie vs. Danielle Koudou, and Boule Godogo vs. Mohamed Soudah. Bosnian heavyweight Benjamin Šehić, who fought in Ares FC back in May, has a new opponent in Genadi Zhorzholiani, an experienced Georgian who will be making his promotional debut.

The co-main event pits Welsh fighter Bobby Pallett against Soslan Gagloev out of Russia. Gagloev, like Yakhyaev, is 4-0 with plenty of room to grow in the sport. Pallett, meanwhile, is a veteran of the European MMA scene, having competed for Cage Warriors and Bellator in the past.

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