The undefeated Kazakh athlete faces the toughest opponent of his career. Is there a chance of losing?

On Saturday, December 21, a fighting tournament will take place in Semey. This will be the final event of the Kazakh organization for the outgoing year. One of the intriguing matchups will feature a welterweight fight between the undefeated Kazakh fighter (6-0) and a Russian opponent (6-1). The correspondent shares details about the upcoming bout.

For 23-year-old Ruzmatov, this will be his first fight in 14 months. Fans have not seen him in action for a long time, and he has yet to compete for a title against the Russian fighter (12-0). The NAIZA league has attempted several times to organize this title fight, but it was repeatedly derailed due to issues with the Kazakh fighter.

However, he is now healthy and ready for new achievements. In early December, he even called out the champion for a match but received a stern response from the titleholder:

Ultimately, Samandar was matched against an opponent (14-9) from Azerbaijan. But after a while, the fight was canceled, and on short notice, the new opponent for the undefeated Kazakh became 27-year-old Russian Morozov.

Evgeny is a seasoned and dangerous opponent. He holds a master of sports title in MMA and pankration, as well as in combat sambo and hand-to-hand combat. Throughout his MMA career, he has achieved six victories (two by knockout, two by submission, and two by decision) and has suffered one defeat.

In his last fight in May, he lost to a Brazilian at a league tournament in Thailand. The bout was stopped after the second round, with the opponent winning by technical knockout.

Samandar immediately expressed his respect for Morozov for agreeing to step in and save the fight for him. If the Russian had declined to take the match on short notice, Ruzmatov would have been without a fight for several more months.

But Samandar needs to understand that this is likely the most dangerous opponent of his career. To begin with, the fighter from Astana is returning to the cage after more than a year-long break, which adds pressure.

Another factor is the opponent's experience. Morozov has a record of 6-1 and holds various accolades in different fighting disciplines. Samandar has not faced fighters of this caliber before. In his previous bouts, he has only stepped into the octagon twice against opponents with a winning record, both of whom were 1-0 at the time. The rest of Ruzmatov's opponents either had an even record (including debutants) or a negative one.

Morozov, on the other hand, has faced tough competition. For instance, last year he defeated both (10-1 at the time) and (27-18-1 at the time).

Will Samandar be able to overcome the most decorated opponent of his career and take a significant step towards the NAIZA championship title? We will find out on Saturday, December 21. Their match will take place on the main card of the tournament.

It should be noted that the event will be headlined by a title fight in the featherweight division. The champion from Kazakhstan (10-2) will defend his title against the Russian fighter (8-3-1).