Weight Class: Featherweight
Record: 12-1
Age: 25
Height: 5’10”
Born In: China
Training Out Of: Longyun MMA Gym
Combined Opponent Records (at the time they fought): 135- 59
Key Wins: Jizheng Wang
Naertai Kezibayi will headline his fourth-straight event for top Chinese MMA promotion JCK tomorrow when he takes on Hubulan Tuerxunbieke at JCK Fight Night 115.
Making his professional MMA debut as a 19-year-old in 2020, Naertai won his first fight via first-round triangle choke before suffering what still stands as his only loss when he met Jingtao Li in his sophomore outing the following year. He returned to the win column several months later with his first KO/TKO victory in his debut for JCK.
Naerti collected four more wins over the next two years before he also got won a unanimous decision in a one-off outing with Armenia’s Mix Fight to open 2024. He ended up getting his hand raised four times that year, and last year he submitted Jizheng Wang with a kimura before he made short work of Zhikang Zhao with a 25-second finish in September.
A southpaw, Naertai likes to immediately put his opponents on the back foot and will regularly pump out his lead hand while feinting kicks with his lead leg. The 25-year-old does boast a diverse kicking game and showed that he can finish opponents with body kicks in his last outing, but he’ll also take aim at the head and likes to use his lead leg to throw a nasty side kick to the knee of his opponents as well.
The featherweight relies heavily on his left straight as both a lead and counter shot, and he also likes to try and catch orthodox opponents when they circle into his lead right hook. Naerti packs some considerable power as well as what seems to be a very impressive chin, which allows him to walk through big shots in order to inflict his own damage.
He’ll also immediately look to land knees to the head in clinch exchanges on the fence and grab ahold of his opponent’s neck if given the opportunity, and from those clinches he’ll utilize inside and outside trips to bring things to the ground. The 25-year-old has also shown off good timing on his double leg takedowns in space, and he’ll often use those attempts to shut things down when his opponent starts to mount some offense on the feet.
Naerti isn’t an especially active guard passer, but he does land some heavy ground and pound from top position and will try to take the back if given the chance. He can also be taken down and held down himself, but he’ll usually try and throw his legs up for a submission right away and also showcased his submission skills when he submitted JCK featherweight titleholder Wang with a kimura off of his back last year, although he unfortunately missed weight ahead of that fight.
As with many fighters on the Chinese regional scene, Naerti admittedly has a few wins against less-than-impressive competition on his record. That being said, he’s largely run through those fighters, and he’s also scored some very solid finishes against experienced veterans. His finishing ability and aggression on the feet make him a fun fighter to watch, and it would be no surprise to see him get the call for Dana White’s Contender Series or Road to UFC if he keeps adding to his lengthy winning streak this year.