You never really know how good a fighter is until you sit down and pay attention to their fights. With Ibragim Kartoev, I realized right away how legit this kid is. He’s fought in Open FC and ACA Young Eagles as a pro and spent a lot of time as an amateur. Kartoev went 18-3, only losing to other legit fighters. He’s fought in IMMAF, is a Russian cup winner, and a two-time Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov Memorial tournament winner. Now, Kartoev sits at 5-0 as a pro.
Kartoev has looked about as flawless as possible so far. I will say you can’t be 100% sure when he’s only fought poor competition as a pro. Also, it’s not great watching him play it a little safe in his last two fights, going the distance. Sure, cage time is awesome, but he had 20+ amateur fights, so it wasn’t a pressing need. From his five fights, he hasn’t lost a round or even a minute in a fight.
If you were to ask me where I think Kartoev is best at, it would be the wrestling. He can get the fight down in multiple ways. He sets up his takedowns perfectly. From the clinch, he applies pressure before changing level to the legs, getting the scoop takedown. From the clinch, you’ll see him chain together trips to double legs. He’ll disguise takedown attempts behind feints and jabs. His defensive wrestling is something to take note of as well. Kartoev has a beautiful sparwl and a granby roll he’s pulled off before. He’s turned sprawls into top posing using front headlocks and hooking a leg to get top position.
Wrestling doesn’t mean anything unless you can do the work necessary when you get it down. Kartoev is just as good there as anything. His control is built on heavy chest and shoulder pressure. He uses that pressure to effortlessly pass guard and transition. He floats so well on top that he can go from side control on one side to the other side in an instant. While suffocating with top pressure, he unleashes layered ground-and-pound. Kartoev stays highly active with punches and sharp elbows in tight quarters. He makes excellent use of short space, mixing his targets beautifully from body to head, never allowing his opponent a moment to settle while steadily piling up damage.
You’d be happy to know he’s far from one-dimensional, as he’s an excellent striker. What’s admirable about his striking is that he’s constantly giving new looks and never throwing the same thing back-to-back. Kartoev is active, throwing the jab and attacking both levels, going to the body as well. Even with his kickboxing, he’ll throw to the legs and times good body shots with little tell. He likes to get a bit flashy as well. He doesn’t set the wheel kicks up, but does throw a beautiful spinning kick to the midsection. Kartoev seems to have sharp defensive looks. Good offense can sometimes be the best defense. As he does so much, opponents find it difficult to find their moments. Still, he’s showcased good footwork and some slick head movement.
Outside of needing a better level of competition, I’m not concerned at all with his ceiling. I am worried if he can’t get out of fighting in Russia because he’s a legit flyweight that needs to be fighting globally.
