5 best UFC fights of 2018 so far

#4 Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Kyle Bochniak – UFC 223 – 04/07/2018

Kyle Bochniak hung tough against Zabit Magomedsharipov and gave him a hell of a fight

One of the UFC’s most highly-touted up-and-comers, Zabit Magomedsharipov had already won two fights in the Octagon in impressive fashion coming into this fight, and on paper at least, it looked like a one-sided fight in his favour, as opponent Kyle Bochniak had never looked like the type to develop into a contender despite some solid showings of his own.

Indeed, the first round of this fight at UFC 223 was all Zabit – he essentially styled on Bochniak, landing some wild strikes and combinations including a hook kick and a jumping switch kick. Bochniak looked hurt on a couple of occasions, but somehow he hung in there, and when the second round came, something evidently changed inside his head.

Suddenly, he was determined to give Zabit the fight of his life.

And for the next ten minutes, he did. No, Bochniak didn’t really come close to winning the fight – he threw power hook after power hook at Magomedsharipov but it didn’t really work, as the Dagestani prospect simply used his more technical striking to land the better shots, and also showed off his excellent grappling chops too – hitting trips and suplexes on his opponent – but Bochniak simply wouldn’t go away.

Other opponents would’ve allowed Magomedsharipov to run away with this fight, but not Bochniak. And when the fight was over, while it was Zabit who walked away with his unbeaten UFC record and stellar reputation intact, it was Bochniak who had won over the fans by screaming at him through a bloody face and by continuing to swing no matter what.

It’s rare that a largely one-sided fight would make a list like this but this was a special fight – a war that really should never have become one.