The Bulgarian threat: 12 career fights, just two decision wins, and not one loss / Photo: UFC
The people of Brazil and UFC fans alike were introduced to light heavyweight Stanislav Nedkov at UFC Rio, where the Bulgarian knocked out Luiz Banha. But Professor Bruno Bastos (Nova União), called on at the last minute to be Nedkov’s corner, has known about the fighter and his style since way back.
“I trained with Nedkov when he fought at Sengoku in Japan,” recalls Bruno. “Since signing with the UFC he’s run into some bad luck with a spate of injuries – his and his opponents’, too –, so he only got to make his debut now. For this fight he unfortunately couldn’t make it to Bulgaria because he didn’t manage sponsorship, so we agreed that I’d help him with the final adjustments to his game here in Rio on the week of the fight, and it all worked out fine.”
Nedkov, who has knockouts and submissions (especially rear-naked chokes) on his ledger, is a well rounded fighter, asserts Bruno:
“His wrestling really is awesome, and he’s obviously got heavy hands, as everyone could see. Now his Jiu-Jitsu lacks polish but is fine for MMA,” he says in praise. “We’re working on getting him to spend some time with me in Dallas before his next fight.”
Could another fighter have arrive on the scene to challenge for the belt that once belonged to Lyoto Machida, Maurício Shogun, and now sits with Jon Jones? What do you think, dear reader? And who would you like to see the hard-hitting Bulgarian fighting next? Let us know in the comments field below.