Weight Class: Lightweight
Record: 5-0
Age: 20
Height: 5’9”
Born In: Russia
Training Out Of: N/A
Combined Opponent Records (at the time they fought): 13-4
Key Wins: Abbas Abasov
Following a 35-second finish in his last outing, undefeated lightweight Ansar Khamzaev returns this Friday to take on Jordon Tague at LFA 232.
Still just 20 years old, Khamzaev will celebrate the two-year anniversary of his professional debut at the end of this month. That first fight saw him get his hand raised via submission in the second round at All in Combat 6 before he kicked off 2025 with a first-round submission at XFC Young Guns 5.
“Borz” joined the LFA in April of last year and handed Abbas Abasov his first loss with another submission just over a minute into the opening round. After going the distance for the first time in his win over Andy Waters, Khamzaev most recently stopped Edens Charles with strikes in just 35 seconds at LFA 222.
A force on the ground, Khamzaev is still a bit of a work in progress as a striker but has shown off a decent 1-2 that he also has good timing with as a counter. He’ll also look to catch opponents with a left hook as they come forward and likes to stab at their midsection using his rear leg, and he likes to mix in the occasional spinning kick as well.
If he isn’t countering an opponent’s offense with strikes of his own, Khamzaev has excellent timing on his double leg attempts and will continue pursuing the takedown along the fence if he doesn’t get it right away. He’ll switch to a high crotch from this position if necessary, and one of the defining characteristics of his career so far are the huge slams he likes to use to bring opponents to the canvas.
The 20-year-old will immediately try and pass into a dominant position once things hit the ground. Even if an opponent establishes guard, Khamzaev is happy to posture up and start landing heavy ground and pound, and he’ll also stand over a grounded opponent before diving back to the mat with a heavy straight punch to the head.
“Borz” will really open up with his ground and pound if an opponent is covered up and unable to create any space to get to their feet. As evidenced by his record, he’s also a constant threat to end things via submission, and Khamzaev is quick to the back and look to establish a body triangle so that he can start hunting for rear naked chokes.
There’s a lot to be excited about with Khamzaev at this stage given his youth, ground skills, and overall potential, not to mention the fact that he’s been training with Khamzat Chimaev. His fight with Waters highlighted some potential gas tank concerns when Waters was able to survive an extremely lopsided opening round, but that’s the only major adversity the 20-year-old has faced in his MMA career so far.
