The Chechnian-born, Yusuf Esembaev is 4-0 at just 22 and is fighting for the Welterweight belt this weekend at A1 Combat 36. Yusuf trains out of San Diego, California and is very close with guys like Ansar Khamzaev and Baisangur Susurkaev. He holds a 100% finish rate, with all those wins coming in the 1st round. He has spent his entire pro career so far with A1 Combat and has 3 KO/TKOs and one submission recently over a tough Jonathan Hanes.
Yusuff went a easy 3-0 as an amateur, running through his opponents in a combined 2 minutes and 53 seconds, not even a full amateur round. Now though, he is going to be competing for his first belt versus the 10-5 Troy Green. With a win here, and maybe a title defense, the UFC will be knocking on the door.
His fighting style is not the normal Russian stereotype – if anything, he is the opposite. Yusuf loves to strike and it shows, as he has dropped or hurt every fighter so far. He loves to come out swinging, throwing big punches and jumping knees. He seems to have every tool in the box on the feet. Not only is he creative, he is very powerful, dropping people with punches that don’t look like much. His best highlight so far is a spinning elbow that absolutely crumbled his opponent. His best weapon though is that flying knee, which he seems to throw in every fight. The knee seems to come out of nowhere, catching his opponent off guard. If the knee doesn’t land, his opponent is then open to a big hook or straight. He truly is a nightmare on the feet, and so far has not had much adversity.
His ground game seems to be secondary, however it is not something to sleep on. He has two submissions, with one coming in the last 15 seconds of the 1st round by D’arce Choke. In that fight, he was fighting someone with a 5-1 record, when he was only 1-0. Yusuf was taken down early, but quickly threatened a buggy choke of all things. He then seemed to be very calm and dangerous off his back, landing elbows and trying for triangles. When the fight returned to the feet, he was able to get his opponent down himself and control before locking up that D’arce in the end.
His last fight was against Jonathan Hanes, a fighter on a 5-fight win streak. He hurt Jonathan on the feet and then went to the ground, where he was able to find a head and arm choke. Even if you get Yusuf down, he will be right back up, throwing heavy hands in your face. While he hasn’t gone past the first round yet, I think he has a good gas tank, and we might see it tested in the upcoming fight.
With stories of him subbing Sean Strickland, this kid feels like a champ in the making. Like I said, he looks to get his first belt this Saturday, and I believe he will be successful and gain another finish for the highlight reel. His flashy striking and active ground game is extremely fan-friendly, and exactly what the UFC loves. Yusuf is a great example of this new wave of truly well-rounded Russian fighters. I would expect another 1st round finish, probably by a choke. However, again, Troy Green is a good fighter and will do his best to make the fight last as long as possible and drag Esembaev into deep waters to see if he can stay afloat.
With a big win this weekend, I will most likely look to move him into my Top 25, as he has truly looked unstoppable versus high-level opponents. His opponents have a combined 13-4 record through his first 4 fights. However, adding Green’s record, he will have faced fighters with a combined 23-9 record, with him hopefully being 5-0 come Saturday night. Let’s hope the bright lights and extra pressure of a Main Event and championship fight don’t faze this young prospect, who is looking to join his Chechnian friends in the UFC.
