Athletes
Nazim Sadykhov | ‘Black Wolf’ Running With A New Pack
Lightweight Details Changes Ahead Of Return To Azerbaijan This Weekend
Back in December, Nazim Sadykhov lost for the first time since his professional debut seven years prior, falling to Fares Ziam at UFC 323. The loss halted a 12-fight unbeaten streak and slowed the Dana White’s Contender Series grad’s momentum in the talent rich lightweight division.
“It’s heartbreaking in both eras,” Sadykhov said. “I can say I was devastated, but I’m also the type to get up, dust myself off, and get right back to work… I don’t want to be one of those guys that’s like, ‘This loss changed the course of things and I went downhill, everything fell apart. It was all good and now it’s bad.’ It’s not gonna be one of those stories. It’s gonna be, ‘This guy may have an off night, he may have an on night, but he’s gonna show up time and time again. You’re gonna see the highest level of MMA. You’re gonna see him improve every time.’
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“I tell myself that as long as my hunger is there, I’m in this game, and my hunger is there; it’s like never before… I’m nowhere near done. I don’t feel like I’m slowing down or anything. I had a lapse of judgment in my preparation, I had other things going on in my life that were probably distracting me a lot more than I was admitting to myself, but nonetheless, I make zero excuses. I get the chance to show you guys on Saturday what I’m all about yet again.”
When you haven’t been forced to deal with defeat often, the process of returning from a setback can be more difficult than anticipated as there is a tendency to want to make an abundance of changes.
For Sadykhov, the defeat prompted some introspection and conversations with himself about whether he was adhering to his “Black Wolf” nickname too closely as he readied for battle.
“We are our environment. We are what we surround ourselves with. We are our thoughts, our language, everything we say, and I feel at that moment, none of that was in my favor, none of that was right,” he said. “I’m ‘Black Wolf’ because of the loneliness aspect, but in this particular scenario, that hurt me… I can’t keep doing this alone and I have to surround myself with people that have love for me, have care for my victory, for my career, for my future.”
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So that’s precisely what he did.
Sadykhov opened a gym with friends Charlie and George Quinn, collaborating with coaches Matheus Naccache as the striking coach and Jesse Doyle as the grappling coach. They also brought in Kody Steele from Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas. Altogether, it was a change in Sadykhov’s ecosystem ahead of his return to the Octagon against Matheus Camilo in his hometown of Baku.
“I think in this sport, that’s a key factor,” he said. “This sport is constantly evolving and if you keep doing the same things the whole time, you’re gonna get stuck in the mud and stunt your own growth. In the last six months, I feel more growth than I have in the last year… I feel reborn in a sense because I’m surrounded with a lot of new people, a lot of old people as well. Overall, I have a breath of fresh air in my training regimen and my training camp. I feel better than I have before and this is the best shape I’ve ever been in.
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“It’s cliché to say that — we always say that — but I just genuinely feel that way, and what other mindset am I going to have going into this fight on Saturday? I truly feel the best I’ve ever felt and as experienced as I’ve ever felt.”
The fact that he’s once again fighting in Baku factors into those good feelings as well.
When the promotion ventured to his hometown for the first time a year ago, Sadykhov struggled to find the words to aptly describe what it meant to get to fight in Baku, calling “surreal” too simple a word to represent the complex mix of emotions he felt heading into his bout with Motta.
Nazim Sadykhov Octagon Interview | UFC Baku
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Nazim Sadykhov Octagon Interview | UFC Baku
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Following a Fight of the Night battle in which Sadykhov rallied to win by second-round stoppage, he called it “cinematic.” Now that he’s back for a second appearance, the local lightweight is once again struggling to express what it feels like to be back home, fighting in front of his people.
“It’s a different level of connection with my people. You feel different,” Sadykhov said. “I feel at home in Vegas as well — I’m still going to these arenas out of my house; I’m not staying in hotels and stuff. In all the cities I’ve fought — New York, Vegas, and Baku — it all feels like home because I’m literally leaving from the homes where I lived in those places, but Baku is different because you’re the pride of your country, and it’s a small country of 10 million, so it hits different.
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“People carry themselves different here, the culture is different,” he added. “The support is incredible; the love that people show me motivates me and brings me so much honor to go out there and perform on the big stage for Azerbaijan.”
Saturday night at the National Gymnastics Arena, he intends to go out and dominate for the people of his home country.
“I want to avoid this Rocky story I keep getting into all the time where I’m overcoming, but what can I do?” he said with a laugh. “I’m fighting these prospects and guys that are dangerous. It’s how the fight game goes.
“I’m not necessarily looking to be — I’m not necessarily an entertainer, I just think my fight style is violent, so I think it’s entertaining as a whole. I’m not going to be looking to stall — I’m going to be looking to inflict damage; that’s just the style that I have.”
UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs Torres took place live from National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan on June 27, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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