Outside Source
The Turkmenistan native has waited patiently for his next opportunity since he won the 2024 Professional Fighters League light heavyweight championship. He now has one lined up, as he will face Corey Anderson for the undisputed light heavyweight crown when the two men collide in the PFL Champions Series 3 co-main event on Oct. 3 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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Yagshimuradov has been taking movie roles while awaiting the call for his first assignment of 2025. Though grateful for the opportunities to branch out, he suggests he is more than ready to return to competition.
“Overall, I’m content,” Yagshimuradov told Sherdog.com. “Of course, I’d like to have fights a bit more frequently, but I’m not going to do too much. I’m thankful for what I get.”
The 36-year-old American Top Team rep was not part of the PFL 2025 World Tournament, but he echoed the same sentiment as many fighters when talk turned to the organization’s well-chronicled format change. Yagshimuradov wants to be in the cage more often.
“For me, I like to stay active, so I did like the change to the tournament format,” he said. “I like that the fights are more frequent in a quicker timeframe. The more the merrier for me is how I’d like to approach it.”
Fixing Mistakes From the Past
Yagshimuradov would be open to competing in the 2026 tournament should the PFL make that option available to him. Before any such ideas can come to fruition, he must first take care of business against Anderson—a veteran champion for whom he plans to be ready.
“For me, he’s just another opponent that I have to finish,” Yagshimuradov remarked nonchalantly. “My main goal is to win no matter what. I will get into the SmartCage and finish this fight however I need to. I am not thinking about him. Let him think about me.”
Yagshimuradov knows Anderson better than most, seeing as though he lost to “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 19 winner under the Bellator MMA banner in April 2021. The rematch gives him the opportunity to even the score with the Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran.
“It’s just about righting the wrong,” Yagshimuradov remarked. “In the previous fight, there were a lot of things that were off. I didn’t do the proper camp. There were a lot of outside circumstances. Now, I’m a different person, and I think Corey has remained the same person. I feel like I’ve been growing and improving, and it’s time to fix my mistakes from the past.”
Anderson has gone 4-1 with one no contest in the six appearances since he defeated Yagshimuradov. He even moved up to heavyweight in his most recent outing, as he put away Denis Goltsov with elbows in second round of their encounter on July 19. It was Anderson’s third straight win.
“First off, I’m a much different fighter than Denis,” he noted. “I think Denis has this thing where he cracks under pressure. I like brawls. The more aggressive you make me, the harder I come back. As for Corey, I think he does a couple of things well. He wrestles, he transfers you well in wrestling and he finishes, but that’s all he has. As long as I can defend his takedowns, I don’t see a problem going up against him.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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