Ismail “The Austrian Wonderboy” Naurdiev | 18-2 | 5’10 170 lbs. | Age 22 | Reach 74” | Orthodox Stance | Fighting Out of Salzburg, Austria
“The Austrian Wonderboy” Ismail Naurdiev is 18 and 2 professionally with 16 stoppages to his name. He was born in the Capital of Chechnya Grozny, Russia but moved to Salzburg, Austria to double down on his fighting career. The multi-national man made his MMA debut in 2012, breaking out in a four-fight win streak before falling victim to a Cam Kaya (2-0) triangle choke.
Naurdiev sharpened his all-around game and went on to win his next eleven fights. He gained fame around Eastern Europe for his unique arsenal of strikes mixed with lethal knockout power. The flashy kicks and spinning attacks earned him his incredible nickname, now the second “Wonderboy” to grace the Octagon (Stephen Thompson first).
After a recent stretch of vicious knockouts, Ismail scored a shot with the UFC to make his name in The Octagon. On just two weeks notice he faced Michel Prazeres (then 26-1), ranked and streaking at eight wins. “The Austrian Wonderboy” went into the cage the biggest underdog on the card. He came out three rounds later with a dominant debut decision. The 22-year old Austrian had possibly the most impressive debut in recent UFC memory. He held off the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt on the ground and out struck him 63 to 15, courtesy of ufcstats.com.
Naurdiev now fights on one of the most popular cards of the year, UFC 239, against Chance “Black Eagle” Rencountre (13-3). “The Austrian Wonderboy” now finds himself a big favorite (-575 on bovada.lv) in his sophomore Octagon showing. It all goes down Saturday 7/6 on The UFC Fight Pass Prelims.
Check out our highlights on fellow UFC 239 fighter Song Yadong > Here
Fighter profile courtesy of Tapology.com > Here
Stats courtesy of UFCstats.com > Here
