His third bout could prove as the best advertisement for his budding contender status to-date. Against the crafty and skillful veteran Dustin Jacoby, Murzakanov proved he could duke it out with one of the sharper kickboxers in the division. Murzakanov rocked the Factory X representative in the first and second rounds, but Jacoby hung in tough. In the third round, the American pressured Murzakanov hard, but he was able to weather the late storm to secure the win. Despite the fight flagging some concerns about his cardio, it also proved he could gut out a win under less-than-ideal circumstances.
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Knockout wins over Alonzo Mneifield and Brendson Ribeiro pushed his UFC record to 5-0, which again brings about the question of why it seems like the general consensus on Murzakanov is a little colder than one would think.
Part of it is certainly his strength-of-schedule. The 36-year-old hasn’t faced a Top 10 talent yet, although he has had a few opportunities afforded to him. On separate occasions, Murzakanov was booked to face Khalil Rountree Jr., Nikita Krylov and Johnny Walker, but Murzakanov was forced to pull out of those bouts for one reason or another.
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