Nazhand’s Kimura Turned a Dangerous Knockdown
Wahed Nazhand submitted Faridun Shokhnazarov at OKTAGON 73 on June 28, 2025, at Barclays Arena in Hamburg, Germany. The welterweight contest ended with a kimura at 3:42 of the second round after Nazhand recovered from a dangerous spell on the ground.
The exchanges left Nazhand facing serious trouble
Shokhnazarov dropped Nazhand and pursued the finish. The sequence placed Nazhand under immediate pressure, with his opponent looking to convert the knockdown into a stoppage through follow-up offense.
Reports after the event also described a jaw injury and damage to Nazhand’s teeth. The comeback therefore became one of the night’s most discussed results, although the official sporting outcome was determined by a submission rather than an injury ruling.
A change of position created the decisive opening
While Shokhnazarov attacked on the canvas, Nazhand reversed the situation and isolated an arm. The kimura forced Shokhnazarov to submit before the second round ended.
That transition changed the result of a fight that had appeared close to going the other way. Nazhand moved from defending an opponent’s finishing attempt to securing a decisive hold of his own.
The comeback earned a performance award
OKTAGON recognized Nazhand with the Tipsport Performance of the Night bonus. His victory joined a Hamburg card that also featured Robert Pukač’s stoppage of Christian Eckerlin and Zhalgas Zhumagulov’s flyweight championship win.
For Nazhand, the defining result remained the second-round submission: surviving the knockdown was only the first step, and the subsequent positional reversal supplied the opportunity that actually ended the contest.
Sources
- LowKick MMA: knockdown, reversal and reported injuries
- Tapology: official kimura time
- OKTAGON: performance bonus
- Combat Press: event and results
