Gamid Khizriev has had a quiet rise, but it’s typical, given that many talented individuals are in Russia. His last name sounds familiar, and that’s because he’s the brother of PFL’s Timur Khizriev and UFC’s Aliaskhab Khizriev. At least of what’s available, Khizriev had an amateur record of 3-1. His loss came to a good fighter, and did win some tournament. Tapology flagged his first two fights due to potential legitimacy, but those are legit wins that early in his career. Khizriev was relatively unknown until his UAE Warriors debut against Abdullo Khodzhaev. Although Khizriev won, there was controversy around it. Many thought Khodzhaev won, but to make it that close against the level of guy Khodzhaev says a lot about Khizriev.
After watching the fight back the fight with Khodzhaev was close enough that it shouldn’t be called a robbery either way. Round one went to Khizriev and two to Khodzhaev. Round three was close, but the control time and takedowns outweighed any damage Khodzhaev gave. Khizriev slowed after round one but still pressed the action and went after the takedowns.
Being from Dagestan, it’s no surprise Khizriev is a wrestler-first. It’s where he excels, but he’s comfortable on the feet. Khizriev is a patient striker who isn’t gonna win you on volume. Every once in a while, he’ll throw something explosive like a spinning kick and flying knee. For the most part, he’s quite conservative in his approach. He spends a lot of time behind his kicks, attacking at all three levels. Khizriev does a good job mostly with the teep to the gut and tricky with the head kick thrown with his lead and rear leg. It would level him up if he threw more behind or in front of his kicks to avoid seeing them coming.
Khizriev is growing with each fight and showing something new along the way. The Russian started to get better with his counterstriking. His footwork plays a nice part in that, being able to step back and counter, or just to get out of the way and reset. Khizriev will use some subtle feints to find his spots, but can benefit from more volume.
Khizriev’s wrestling has been a huge reason for his undefeated record. At times, he’ll telegraph his takedowns but will re-wrestle and run the pipe to get the desired position. At his very best is in the wrestling and grappling exchanges because he’s so good at body control and scrambling. Khizriev holds four career submissions, and all are caught in transitions. He seems to be pretty tough to outwork on the ground because he moves so well and has an answer to anything.
Khizriev, I believe, has a bright future. Outside of that Khodzhaev fight, he’s cruised as expected, because everyone else has been lower level. I do worry about Khizriev’s conditioning with a hard pace instead of him setting the tone. He’s good enough, and it’s not a huge concern, but he will need to sharpen up as he continues to fight better guys.