ACB 86 results: Yusup Raisov unifies 145 titles with first-round finish of Marat Balaev

Yusup Raisov avenged the only loss of his career to unify ACB’s featherweight titles with a first-round submission of Marat Balaev in the main event of ACB 86 Saturday in Moscow, Russia.

“Wolf” found himself in the worst position possible early on as Balaev latched onto his neck and looked to crank his way to a quick win. Raisov managed to compose himself and find a way out of the hold, and as Balaev looked to take him down again, the interim champion landed several uppercuts that opened Balaev’s face up.

Raisov found his way to Balaev’s back and established a rear-naked choke after landing several punches from side saddle. “Motivator” refused to tap and went out while the choke was still on, prompting referee Herb Dean to pry Raisov’s arms apart while he stopped the action.

In the co-main event, Askar Askarov improved to 10-0 with another grappling master class against Rasul Albaskhanov, defending his ACB title for the second time.

Askarov transitioned on top position with ease, constantly looking to find an opening for one of his signature submissions. In the second round, he locked up an unconventional guillotine that he finished from top side control, rendering Albaskhanov unconscious.

Askarov has claimed all 10 of his professional wins by way of stoppage.

Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov dethroned light heavyweight champion Batraz Agnaev with a second-round submission, handing the Russian his first career loss.

The Turkmenistan native’s tactics were clear from the start. Each time he landed a solid shot on the champion in the first round, he immediately looked to take the fight to the ground.

He hurt Agnaev badly in the first 90 seconds of the second round with a right hand. After completing another takedown, he transitioned to the back where he finished the fight via rear-naked choke.

Ciro Rodriguez stepped in on short notice to face Beslan Isaev and scored a spectacular elbow KO over the ACB veteran in the second round of their welterweight clash. Isaev was originally scheduled to face champion Mukhamed Berkhamov on the night, but an injury to the titleholder saw the bout cancelled.

Earlier in the night, Bellator and WSOF veteran, Georgi Karakhanyan, scored a one-sided decision win over Russian knockout artist Alexey Polpudnikov. Karakhanyan wasted no time in taking the fight to the ground in each round and dominated the contest with effective top control and heavy punches.

Full results:

Yusup Raisov def. Marat Balaev via submission (rear-naked choke) in R1
Askar Askarov def. Rasul Albaskhanov via submission (guillotine) in R2
Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov def. Batraz Agnaev via submission (rear-naked choke) in R2
Ciro Rodrigues def. Beslan Isaev via KO (elbow) in R2
Ali Bagov def. Gleristone Santos via TKO (strikes) in R1
Murad Machaev def. Mukhamed Kokov via unanimous decision
Andrey Koshkin def. Rasul Shovhalov via unanimous decision
Georgi Karakhanyan def. Alexey Polpudnikov via unanimous decision
Gadzhimurad Khiramagomedov def. Sharaf Davlatmurodov via unanimous decision
Muslim Magomedov def. Asylzhan Bakhytzhanuly via submission (rear-naked choke) in R2
Abdul-Rakhman Temirov def. Denis Silva via TKO (strikes) in R1
Denis Kanakov def. Abdul Azim Badakhshi via TKO (strikes) in R1