Author – Drew Beaupre
Weightclass: Lightweight
Record: 10-0
Age: 27
Height: 5’10”
Born in: Kyrgyzstan
Training out of: 𝐓akhtay Team
Combined opponents’ record (at the time they fought): 65-41
Key wins: N/A
Following a nine-month layoff, Shermurat Kalilov is set to return to action this Saturday and challenge Valery Gritsutin for the Yuzhniy Rubezh lightweight belt at Yuzhniy Rubezh 7.
After winning his pro debut via first-round guillotine choke in 2019, Kalilov joined Octagon League in 2021 and picked up two victories before he submitted Sambet Naimanbayev to win the promotion’s featherweight belt the following year. “Pantera” also won the Georgian Fighting Championship featherweight belt with a first-round knockout against Kvicha Koridze to close out 2022.
The 27-year-old returned to Octagon League the following year and added two more wins to his undefeated record. Last year saw Kalilov defeat Willington Pereira at Octagon 57 before a one-off lightweight fight with Dala FC that he won in one minute, and in his last outing at Octagon 67 he submitted Mahyar Rafiei with an armbar to improve to 10-0.
On the feet, Kalilov is happy to take the first few minutes of a fight to get a read on his opponent and also see how they react to his feints. He often likes to keep his right arm extended straight out, and when pressured, he’s quick to retreat but will circle off when he knows his back is starting to get close to the cage.
Kalilov doesn’t usually have massive output when he starts to throw strikes, but almost everything he throws is intended to hurt his opponent. He has particularly good timing on his straight right and will follow it up with a heavy left hook, and opponents like Ahmed El Gharib have found out how he loves to catch leg kicks and return with a huge right hand right down the pipe.
“Pantera” will occasionally chip away at his opponent’s legs and likes to stomp on their lead thigh with his lead leg. He’ll also use the same leg to throw step-up high kicks or attack the body, and in a few of his recent fights, he’s also utilized a hook kick that helps keep opponents guessing and sets up opportunities for his favored spinning back kicks to the midsection.
Kalilov will occasionally mix in some jabs when he’s feeling confident, but he typically is looking to drop his opponents with everything he throws. He doesn’t necessarily feel the need to dive into an opponent’s guard when they do go down and is happy to beat up their legs from a standing position, and if he does go to the mat, he’ll immediately look to posture up for heavy ground and pound.
He has shown off good timing on his takedown entries and also excels at hitting trips when an opponent closes the distance enough for him to grab a body lock. Kalilov does boast three submission wins on his record, and in his last fight against Rafiei, he showed that he’s a threat off his back when he threw up an armbar not long after being taken down.
Currently riding a seven-fight win streak and with 29 pro MMA fights under his belt, Gritsutin should be a solid test for Kalilov at this stage of his career. Potentially winning a third regional title and improving his pro record to 11-0 would certainly draw the attention of larger organizations, and at 27 years old, he’s an exciting prospect that’s both a submission threat as well as a heavy-handed striker.