After the biggest win of his career at UFC 321, what’s next for Azamat Murzakanov?

This past Saturday on the main card opener of UFC 321, we saw a big time matchup in the light heavyweight division. Undefeated top contender Azamat Murzakanov (16-0) was looking to remain unbeaten as he took on Aleksandar Rakic (14-6).

These two entered the octagon riding opposite waves of momentum. As you can tell, Murzakanov was undefeated and nobody has really given him much trouble inside the octagon. Meanwhile, Rakic had lost three fights in a row.

That said, the competition level was drastically different. Rakic had lost to three straight former world champions while Murzakanov really hasn’t been tested against ranked competition. With that, I had my doubts about Murzakanov entering the bout and I actually picked Rakic.

Early on, Rakic was having a ton of success fighting from range and using his kicks. Then out of no where, Murzakanov landed a perfect straight shot as Rakic was coming in and that put the lights out giving Murzakanov the massive knockout win at UFC 321.

What’s next after UFC 321?

This was a huge win for Murzakanov and in the updated UFC rankings, he’s now up to 7th. After the fight was over, he called for a title eliminator and I honestly am not opposed to that. Light heavyweight is really interesting right now with Alex Pereira just regaining the title.

The champ seems to be focused on a potential move to heavyweight to fight Jon Jones next. Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg are the two men who are seen as next in line for a title shot. Should Pereira move up, I think Prochazka and Ulberg would either fight for an interim title or the number one contender spot.

If Pereira stays at 205, one of those men would get the next title shot and I think that Murzakanov might get the other. Another option for Murzakanov and one I actually really like is a fight with former champion Magomed Ankalaev. If Murzakanov gets through Ankalaev, there’s no denying him of a title fight.