Black Combat 16: Exodus ends the month of January with their biggest event in company history. The card will host 14-fights and five of them will be title bouts. Let’s get started with who I believe you should be watching for.
The event has a banger of a main event lined up for us in Tae Kyun Kim (11-2) Vs. Adilet Nurmatov (14-2). Not for a title, but as a matchup, it is clearly the best on the card.
South Korea’s Kim was once considered one of the best prospects from Asia. He had a rough setback in 2022 to Roman Bogatov and ended up taking a hiatus before coming back and signing with PFL. Kim competed in the world tournament last year, going 1-1. He beat Nathan Kelly and lost to Movlid Khaybulaev – the eventual winner.
Nurmatov is considered the prospect and the one to watch in this fight. Kim is already 31 and had his chance at a big promotion already. Nurmatov was supposed to fight as a featured bout on Road to UFC, but VISA issues had him pull out. He was then supposed to fight a top Chinese prospect in Aili Mulatebieke, but Nurmatov pulled out. Nurmatov is a winner of his last seven having not lost a fight in four years. He’s riding the momentum here and is the one who’s being looked at by the UFC.
Nurmatov seems to have the style that’s beaten Kim twice, and that’s a smothering wrestling gameplan. To beat Kim, you have to have almost the perfect fight to beat him. Kim struggles with TDD, but has good jiu-jitsu, and his stand-up is solid. The longer Nurmatov gives Kim space, the more opportunities Kim has to do damage. I ultimately lean towards Nurmatov because he has the style to win minutes and is the fresher fighter.
Seong Hyuk Bang (7-0) makes his first Black Combat featherweight title defense. He does so against Lucas Bento, whose 2-4 in his last six. Not much of a wrestler, Bang relies on keeping the fight on the feet, where he can work behind his jab and is patient in setting up his shots. He’s coming off a not-so-exciting fight, but typically is a speedy striker with good instincts, counter-striking, and feinting. Bang is pinged as the next big prospect out of South Korea, but he needs to prove that against better competition before giving that title.
Brazil’s Gabriel Rodrigues (6-0) has a big opportunity this Saturday to make a name for himself. He attempts to take out the current flyweight champion, Takahiro Komakine. Komakine is the side in this fight. He’s been in the sport six years longer and almost four times as many fights as Rodrigues.
Rodrigues is well-rounded, being able to fight anywhere. On the feet, he’s an explosive, compact striker with enough power in his hands to shut the lights out with one punch. He fights in explosive bursts and does a fine job of countering kicks. I don’t know about his wrestling, but he does attack submissions and will do it off his back. This is a big ask for the young Rodrigues, but it’s a low-risk, high-reward.
Flyweight, Daniiar Toichubek (11-0), is undoubtedly the highlighted prospect of this card. He sits at #18 in our rankings, so he’s held in high regard. Toichubek went an impressive 6-0 in ACA. Since he left there, he won the Ala-Too FC title and is about to take his second fight in Black Combat. Even with more decisions than anything, Toichubek has legit finishing ability. It mostly comes from the standup with the timing, counter ability, and big knockout power for a flyweight. He’s well-rounded, being a good wrestler as well and a top-notch scrambler. He fights Jin Se Lee, a power puncher, but very much nowhere close to Toichubek’s level.
Ruslan Amuev (10-0) is looking to build off a strong 2025 and continue is run in Asia. Amuev is coming off wins over a 7-0 fighter and a former UFC and TUF winner, Reginaldo Vieira. His style, you’ll see that he brings to the cage, is a high-level wrestling attack. He’s not much of a striker but hasn’t spent a lot of time even trying, as he’s quickly shooting in on the legs. Although you wanna see him show more weapons, it’s nice to see that he’ll stick to his strengths. His wrestling, pace, cardio, and grappling are gonna be a nightmare to deal with. Amuev is fighting Kim Dong Gyu, who is a journeyman. He’s durable, but someone Amuev matches up with super well.
Hyuk Min Ji (5-1) is looking to make it four in a row builing off his biggest win to date. Ji fought in Rizin last May and finished veteran Koji Takeda. Where Ji would struggle is defending takedowns, but mostly physicality. At only 20-years-old I’m sure he can sure up his skillset and be an overall threat. I already like where his striking is at, to be fair. He is good at range with his straight punches and dangerous on the inside with the knees. As the fight gets going, Ji gains more momentum and presses the action even more so. Not overly sold because of how he’s started fights, but he can go far.
Another Brazilian on this card and the most notable is the surging Matheus Correia (11-0). Correia had been in the sport for a number of years. He’s won titles in Brazil and won kickboxing bouts but has yet to reach mainstream attention. Notability has escaped him not because of his talent but because of his lack of finishing fights. What he’s showcased more than anything is his ability to lean on his wrestling and ground game to win minutes. His stand-up isn’t bad as he throws heavy and has that forward pressure. Correia is very talented but needs to develop a killer instinct to be taken seriously at bantamweight which is full of killers.