Although the UFC released him in 2013, Russia’s Azamat Gashimov isn’t dwelling on if’s, but’s or maybe’s.
After falling victim to a first round Armbar submission by Ivan Menjivar at UFC 154 in November, 2012, Gashimov locked horns with John Lineker in his second octagon appearance at UFC on FX 8 the following year, but came up short on that occasion as well as he succumbed to punches en route to a TKO defeat.
Suffice to say, both stoppage losses contributed to the Russian’s eventual release from the Las Vegas-based outfit. However, the 23-year-old isn’t worried or holding any grudges against the UFC’s decision to cut him. Instead, he feels that the exposure can only make him better hereon in.
“There is no doubt it was a great experience to fight in the UFC and it’ll definitely help me in my next fights,” Gashimov reflected, in an exclusive interview with MMASucka.com through a translator. “It has made me a stronger fighter in many aspects.”
“But that’s not going stop me from struggling to get back to the best organization in the world. People forget that both my opponents were top ten in their respective weight classes, and I accepted those fights, regardless. I don’t regret that. It is what it is.”
Just a few months after receiving his walking papers, Gashimov, along with his Sambo compatriot, Shamil Magomedov, penned deals with RUFF for their promotional debuts ahead of the organization’s 12th installment this weekend.
While people may think the 23-year-old is taking a step back in his career, the fighter thinks otherwise. He sees this as an opportunity for a fresh start, post-Zuffa.
“All my training and my fights were mainly in the west,” he continued. “So I decided to fight for a different organization which had different fighters. Fighters that train in a different place, have different ways, etc.”
And as the Russian prepares for his opponent, Lu ZhenHong, on Saturday night’s headliner, he admits that his striking is an aspect he’s worked on heavily over the course of the past months or so.
He is vary of ZhenHong’s abilities as a well-rounded combatant capable of pulling off victories via either submission or knockout, which is why he doesn’t consider himself as a heavy favorite to win.
“I have fought world class fighters and as for Lu ZhengHong, I’ve certainly put in a lot of hard work to prepare for him. I’ve watched some of RUFF’s fights, and it’s a good organization with good fighters,” Gashimov concluded. “A fight is a fight and it can go either way. The better fighter will win. I won’t disclose my gameplan, it’s confidential. But fans can expect an exciting fight.”
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Azamat Gashimov (7-3) takes on Lu ZhengHong (7-2) in the main event of RUFF 12 on Saturday night, March 29, at the Hongkou Indoor Stadium in Shanghai, China.
Click here to check out the full fight card for the event.
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