5 Defining Moments: Omari Akhmedov

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Omari Akhmedov could soon find himself on the precipice of a life-altering payday.

The battle-hardened Russian will square off with the unbeaten Joshua Silveira when their 2022 Professional Fighters League light heavyweight semifinal serves as the PFL 7 co-main event on Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The victor moves on to compete for $1 million in November. Akhmedov, 34, enters the cage on the heels of back-to-back wins. He last appeared at PFL 4, where he choked Teodoras Aukstuolis unconscious with a second-round arm-triangle and locked up the No. 2 seed in the 205-pound tournament.

As Akhmedov sets his sights on his latest target, a look at five of the moments that have come to define him during a career that now spans well over a decade:

1. Damaging Debutant

Akhmedov made a spectacular Ultimate Fighting Championship debut when he knocked out Thiago de Oliveira Perpetuo with a brutal two-punch combination in the first round of their action-packed UFC Fight Night 32 prelim on Nov. 9, 2013 at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. Perpetuo met his end 3:31 into Round 1. An incidental clash of heads had Akhmedov reeling early on, but the sambo practitioner weathered the subsequent swarm and somehow recovered. Perpetuo later staggered the Octagon rookie with a short right hand, only to have Akhmedov answer with a takedown before transitioning to the Brazilian’s back in search of a rear-naked choke. The two middleweights ultimately returned to their feet. Perpetuo wobbled his counterpart again and sent him into a backpedal, but he grew overzealous in his pursuit of the finish. Akhmedov responded with a quick right hook that brought “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” Season 1 semifinalist to his knees and followed it with a ringing right uppercut that sealed the deal.

2. Icy Realities

Icelandic grappling savant Gunnar Nelson put away Akhmedov with a guillotine choke in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 37 welterweight showcase on March 8, 2014 at the O2 Arena in London. Nelson drew the curtain 4:36 into Round 1, delivering what was at the time his 12th consecutive victory. Akhemdov was out of his depth in his first assignment at 170 pounds. Nelson drove the rugged Dagestani fighter to the canvas behind a stiff straight left, moved immediately to mount and tore into him with a series of wicked elbows. Akhmedov was virtually defenseless in the face of pointed aggression. Nelson snatched the guillotine during a subsequent scramble, engaged his hips and prompted the tapout. The setback was Akhmedov’s first in more than three years.

3. Too Close to Call

Former Venator Fighting Championship titleholder Marvin Vettori fought to a majority draw with Akhmedov as part of the UFC 219 undercard on Dec. 30, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Judges Sal D’Amato and Tony Weeks struck 28-28 scorecards, while Glenn Trowbridge saw it 29-28 for Vettori. Neither man was satisfied with the outcome. Akhmedov raced out to an early advantage by ripping kicks to the inside of the Italian’s lead leg and firing off winging punches with both hands. However, his high-velocity strikes failed to produce a finish and taxed his gas tank. Vettori capitalized on his fatiguing opponent in the second half of the fight and did his best work in the third round, where he lit up the American Top Team representative with a multi-punch volley, a jumping knee and swarming punches before stunning him later with a slashing straight left. Afterward, the two men went their separate ways, with Vettori eventually emerging as the UFC’s top contender at 185 pounds.

4. A Level Below

Former middleweight champion Chris Weidman returned to the winner’s circle when he laid claim to a unanimous decision over Akhmedov in their grueling UFC Fight Night 174 co-main event on Aug. 8, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it for Weidman: 29-27, 29-27 and 29-28. Akhmedov swung for the fences with winging punches and appeared to seize control in the second round, where the “All-American” grew visibly fatigued and conceded multiple takedowns. However, Weidman found the gas necessary to forge ahead in Round 3, as he tripped the American Top Team rep to the floor, advanced to the back and ultimately achieved full mount under threat of an arm-triangle choke. While the submission did not materialize, he maintained positional dominance, dropped elbows and crossed the finish line in front.

5. Power Surge

Akhmedov gained a foothold in the Professional Fighters League and did so in exhilarating fashion, as he dispatched Viktor Pesta with punches in the first round of their PFL 1 pairing on April 20, 2022 at Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Pesta checked out 85 seconds into Round 1. Roughly a minute into the match, Akhmedov stepped into two overhand rights and staggered the Sanford MMA export before backing him to the fence with a heavy jab and another overhand. Pesta lunged at an attempted takedown out of desperation, nosedived into the mat and returned to his feet unaware. As soon as the Czech was upright, Akhmedov launched another overhand right and connected with devastating consequences. Pesta collapsed backward, his arms outstretched as referee Jacob Montalvo moved in to dust the crime scene for prints.