Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev's two most competitive bouts came against Najmudin Yusupov in ACA Young Eagles in June 2022, where he won by triangle choke in the second round, and against Nikolai Kovalenko — an MSMK-level judoka — in a five-round bout in January 2023, which he won by unanimous decision. Against Yusupov, Yakhyaev trailed through much of the fight before securing a slick triangle with a precise arm-clearing movement. Against Kovalenko, he weathered a second-round knockdown before regrouping and securing three rounds of dominant ground control to take the decision. Both performances highlighted Yakhyaev's takedown ability, positional control, and composure under pressure.
Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev has compiled a perfect 10-0 professional record, but two bouts stand out as genuine tests of what the 25-year-old orthodox fighter is made of — a triangle choke finish against Najmudin Yusupov in June 2022 and a five-round unanimous decision over judoka Nikolai Kovalenko in January 2023.
Yakhyaev, who stands six-foot-two with a 78-inch reach, has built his unbeaten run on a suffocating grappling game. His numbers reflect that dominance: he averages 11.49 takedowns per 15 minutes and 7.7 submission attempts per 15 minutes, while also landing 7.4 significant strikes per minute at a striking accuracy of 67 percent — an unusually high clip that suggests he is rarely throwing idle shots.
The Yusupov bout, contested under the ACA Young Eagles banner, was his most technically demanding submission performance. Yakhyaev trailed for much of the fight before producing a precise arm-clearing movement to lock in a triangle choke in the second round and force the stoppage.
The Kovalenko contest, against an MSMK-level judoka, tested a different dimension of his game. A knockdown in the second round put Yakhyaev in genuine danger, but he regrouped, reasserted his grappling, and ground out three dominant rounds of positional control to earn all three judges' scorecards across five rounds.
Why it matters
- Both wins came after adversity, revealing composure and adaptability under pressure
- The Kovalenko performance is particularly significant given the opponent's elite judo credentials, showing Yakhyaev can neutralize high-level grapplers on the ground
- His combination of volume striking accuracy and elite takedown output makes him a multi-dimensional threat at 25, with the record still unblemished at 10-0
