Chaban Ka’s historically extreme career swings

An exciting HW prospect at one point. Chaban Ka was an exciting HW prospect at one point. He went pro on December 26, 2009 at age 30. He lost his first pro fight to Omar Kasdi, and then said: “I’m going to go on a 7 fight win streak. I’m going to start it soon… maybe not today… maybe not tomorrow... but soon.” Later that night, he fought Jamal Jemli and won by unanimous decision. Indeed he started his win streak and during the first 4 wins, his opponents had a combined 1-3 record - a.k.a. total cans. Ka then said: “Can crushin is not for me.” He meant it - huge step up in opponent quality. Next, he fought to a draw with UFC HW title challenger (and current Member of the State Assembly of the Republic of Bashkortostan) Jeff Monson, followed by wins over Haris Reiz (8-1) and Bellator vet Alexei Kudin (14-6). Then came the losses - another HUGE step up in opponent quality. Back to back L’s in 2013 vs Marcin Tybura (who today is #8 in the UFC heavyweight rankings) and Szymon Bajor (who at 25-9, challenged for the KSW belt in 2023). He won a rematch vs Monson, beat another can, then lost to Denis Smoldarev (10-1; he fought Alexander Volkov in his next fight for the M1 belt). Now 8-4-1, Ka got KO’d by Sergei flippin Pavlovic, then had a NC in a rematch with Kudin… and called it a career. For someone who only fought on the EU regional scene, Ka amassed a solid résumé against real fighters... only problem is they beat him. submitted by /u/sarsfox [link] [comments]