Mansur Abdul-Malik continues to be a rising force in the middleweight rankings, putting on a statement of a performance in a first-round finish of Antonio Trocoli during the UFC 323 prelims.
After flashing his striking power, Abdul-Malik delivered a big takedown, forcing Trocoli to his back. Trocoli was able to get back to his feet, but Adbul-Malik caught him in a guillotine choke.
Abdul-Malik scored the tapout in just 69 seconds.
Mansur-Abdul Malik Submits Antonio Trocoli Quickly At UFC 323
Just three of Abdul-Malik’s fights have gone past the first round. The unbeaten Abdul-Malik earned a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024. Prior to tonight, his UFC run has seen him finish Dusko Todorovic and Nick Klein before a no contest with Cody Brundage at UFC Atlanta earlier this year.
In about a month’s time, the UFC will arrive in Chicago with a middleweight championship main event for UFC 319 that features Dricus Du Plessis defending the title against Khamzat Chimaev.
Both men in their own right have been seemingly unbeatable, as both men will enter unbeaten in their UFC tenures — and just two losses (both Du Plessis’) in the 39 fights combined between their two professional MMA careers.
Chimaev being so dominant in most of his performances, combined with the hype around him and his fighting style, have led plenty to feel he will leave Chicago with the belt strapped around his waist. Others, however, feel Du Plessis’ own, more awkward fighting style will land him yet another surprise victory in the cage.
When breaking down a comparison between the two’s fighting styles, another unbeaten UFC fighter, Mansur Abdul-Malik, feels Chimaev’s will get the better of DDP.
“Khamzat comes in that first round guns blazing,” Abdul-Malik told James Lynch recently. “He does a similar thing every single fight, but that thing has not failed. So, you really can’t bet against that.”
Mansur Abdul-Malik Predicts Khamzat Chimaev Will Defeat Dricus Du Plessis For UFC Middleweight Title At UFC 319
If there are two things Chimaev is known for in the Octagon, it is his dominant, freestyle-based wrestling and is “smashing” ground-and-pound that he’ll use on his opponents to try and finish the fight after securing the takedown. Sometimes those takedowns will also be set up through the usage of his boxing.
That fight style has led Chimaev not only to an undefeated UFC tenure, but also an unbeaten record in the sport, and some feel Du Plessis may struggle with that kind of pressure.
Abdul-Malik added that he feels Chimaev also is strong in terms of the mental aspects of the game, noting a specific example with his decision win in a highly entertaining bout with former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns.
“[Chimaev is] tough in his own right,” Abdul-Malik said. “Look at the Gilbert Burns example. Look at his mentality. Look at the way he competes. Look at the fire that he comes with. That’s not someone that’s going to give up.”
Despite repeated one-year layoffs the last couple of years, and time off to deal with illnesses during his Octagon tenure, Chimaev has had plenty of hype around him, with early expectations of him becoming a UFC champion — something that could become a reality in about a month at UFC 319.
Chimaev earned his title shot off a dominant performance against former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. It should be noted that Whittaker’s only other losses at 185 in the Octagon — Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis — have each tasted middleweight gold.
Du Plessis won the middleweight title by defeating Sean Strickland at UFC 297 and retained the gold against Adesanya at UFC 305 and Strickland at UFC 312.
Mansur Abdul-Malik is still undefeated and (technically) still hasn’t gotten a full 15 minutes, though he now has seen a judges’ scorecards — not in the way anyone might expect.
Abdul-Malik thought he scored a third-round TKO of Cody Brundage, but an accidental clash of heads resulted in the fight going to a decision instead.
The fight didn’t have much action over the course of the first 10 minutes, with both men taking a cautious approach with their striking. Abdul-Malik had the edge, however, even busting Brundage open behind his ear during the second round. Brundage, however, scored his fair share as well.
But the two appeared to let their hands go completely to start the third round, throwing wild exchanges. Abdul-Malik landed a strong knee to the body. Brundage soon went down covering up, with Abdul-Malik throwing ground-and-pound in route to a TKO. But upon replay, the fighters accidentally clashed heads, which resulted in Brundage folding up on the ground.
Due to what the replay review revealed, the finish was called off. With the fight entering the third round, the brief round was scored and went to a technical decision, with Abdul-Malik instead being awarded a technical unanimous decision.
Headbutt Sees Mansur Abdul-Malik Go From Finish To Decision Win Over Cody Brundage At UFC Atlanta
That makes 0 sense. 3rd round should not be scored there. Very unfortunate accident. Should be a no contest. #UFCAtlanta
Wait what? How the hell they scored the third round and gave 30-27 to Mansur Abdul-Malik? What they judged here? 😂😂😂😂😂 I think we were good with not going to Atlanta 😂#UFCAtlanta
— Giorgi Kokiashvili 🇬🇪 (@iHeartGeorgius1) June 15, 2025
Abdul-Malik, an alumnus of Dana White’s Contender Series, is now 3-0 in the Octagon after finishes of Duško Todorović and Nick Klein.
Brundage is now 3-2 (1 NC) in his last six, coming into tonight off a win over Julian Marquez in March.
