After his 2023 loss against the rising Grant Dawson, Damir Ismagulov was once more considering retirement and it seemed like his path in the UFC had come to an end.
We haven’t heard from ‘Qazaq’ for some time, but now the news broke that he has signed with the Moscow promotion Nashe Delo and will compete against the former ACA Lightweight Grand Prix champion, Eduard Vartanyan. having last fought in June of 2023, Vartanyan was focused on getting a deal done with the UFC, but with no success.
These two fighters have great pedigrees and are the same age, but one had just come out of the world’s number 1 MMA promotion and the other is eagerly waiting for the call-up. Vartanyan vs Ismagulov is scheduled for Nashe Delo 82, in Moscow on March 2nd.
2022 ACA Lightweight GP Champion Eduard Vartanyan will take on UFC veteran Damir Ismagulov on March 2nd at Nashe Delo 82. pic.twitter.com/9CW4rz5nQN
— Violent Money TV (@ViolentMoneyTV) January 27, 2024
Eduard Vartanyan turned down a huge deal from the Russian Promotion originally
Throughout 2022 and 2023, Vartanyan competed in the ACA Lightweight GP and in the end came out on top – finishing all 3 of his opponents. A couple of months after that, in October 2023,…
