Welcome to Only Cans, our new Monday tradition where we investigate one of MMA's greatest mysteries: fighters with records that look absolutely terrifying until you make the dangerous decision to actually look at who they fought.
You know the type. Some undefeated prospect appears on a card at 17-0 and immediately gets introduced as an unstoppable killing machine. Then you open his record and discover opponent number nine was 1-4, opponent number ten was making his professional debut and opponent number eleven appears to have been selected because he was already standing near the cage.
That's what we're investigating every Monday.
We'll look at opponents' records at the time they fought, the quality of competition, experience gaps and what happened when the competition eventually improved. We're also giving every suspect an official MF Can-O-Meter rating, because apparently this is what journalism has become.
Our first defendant?
Khusein Askhabov.
And this man arrived in the UFC with a fucking 23-0 record.
23-0 Sounds Pretty Fucking Serious
Twenty-three wins. Zero losses.
For comparison, getting to 23-0 in MMA should normally mean you're either an extraordinary fighter or your manager deserves some kind of Nobel Prize for opponent selection.
Askhabov turned professional in 2012 and spent his undefeated run fighting across Russia and Europe before eventually reaching the UFC. He wasn't just winning either: 16 of those first 23 victories came by knockout or submission, with 12 first-round finishes.
That's the sort of record that makes you stop scrolling.
Then you start at the beginning.
And somebody opens the canned-food aisle.
The Early Years Are Magnificent
Askhabov's professional debut actually looks normal enough. He was 0-0 and fought Vladimir Vlasov, who Tapology listed at 1-1. Askhabov won a decision. Nothing suspicious there.
Fight number two gets more interesting. Askhabov, now 1-0, fought Maftun Babaev, who was 0-1. Askhabov stopped him in the first round. Babaev would eventually finish his recorded professional career at 0-3.
Then things become art.
As Askhabov climbed through 2-0, 3-0, 4-0 and beyond, several opponents had extremely limited recorded professional experience. Tapology lists Ramazan Kurbanaliev at 0-0 when he faced the 5-0 Askhabov. Vitaly Maksimov was 0-3 when Askhabov was 6-0. Timur Aduzov was listed at 0-0 when Askhabov arrived at 8-0.
There was also Wemba N'Zuzi, whose Sherdog record contains exactly two professional fights.
Both losses.
Askhabov gave him the first one.
At this point the record wasn't padded.
It had memory foam.
But Here's Where We Have to Be Fair
This series would be shit if we simply found a fighter with a suspicious record and called every opponent a can.
Askhabov's competition did improve.
By the middle of his undefeated run he was no longer exclusively fighting inexperienced opposition. Nicolae Negrea was 6-2 when Askhabov submitted him. Mamadou Gueye was 7-2. Duane van Helvoirt was an experienced 12-6. Donovan Desmae was a very respectable 9-1 when Askhabov beat him by unanimous decision.
Those aren't fake wins.
Later he beat Edilson Teixeira, an experienced veteran with 25 wins on his record at the time, followed by Luiz Filho at 10-4. His final two wins before reaching UFC came against undefeated Arbi Movsarov at 7-0 and Yusup Visingiev at 3-0.
So no, Khusein Askhabov did not go 23-0 by fighting 23 bartenders.
There were legitimate fighters in there.
The problem is that the shiny number at the front still looked significantly more impressive than the résumé underneath it.
Then the UFC Happened
After nearly three years without competing, Askhabov finally made his UFC debut against Jamall Emmers in February 2023.
Askhabov entered 23-0.
Emmers entered 18-6.
If MMA records worked like numbers on a spreadsheet, Askhabov should have eaten him alive.
Instead, Emmers won a unanimous decision. Askhabov's perfect record disappeared in his first UFC appearance.
Now, that doesn't prove Askhabov was a fraud. Emmers was vastly more experienced against high-level opposition, Askhabov had been inactive for almost three years, and losing one UFC fight doesn't retroactively erase 23 professional victories.
But it does demonstrate exactly why Only Cans exists.
A record tells you what happened.
It doesn't always tell you what it means.
🥫 THE MF CAN-O-METER
Khusein Askhabov: 6.5/10 CANS
The prosecution has evidence.
The beginning of the résumé contains enough inexperienced and losing opponents to make 23-0 look considerably shinier than it really was. Fighting a 0-3 opponent while you're already 6-0 is exactly the sort of thing that causes the Can-O-Meter to start making noises.
But we're not giving him a 9 or 10 because that would be bullshit.
Askhabov eventually fought credible opposition. Desmae at 9-1 was a legitimate win. Gueye, van Helvoirt and Negrea had real experience, while Movsarov was undefeated at 7-0. There was actual meat in the sandwich; somebody had just stuffed an unnecessary amount of canned ham around it.
VERDICT: GUILTY OF RECORD ENHANCEMENT, BUT NOT FULL-SCALE CAN FRAUD.
Twenty-three-and-zero looked terrifying.
The actual résumé looked... pretty good.
Those are not the same thing.
And that is precisely why we're coming back next Monday.
Every week, Only Cans will put another suspicious MMA record on trial. Some fighters will be convicted. Some will turn out to have much better résumés than the internet gives them credit for. And eventually we're going to find somebody whose manager deserves to be investigated by Interpol for what he did to regional middleweights.
Until then, remember that you can't choose who your favorite fighter beats.
You can choose what you wear while padding your own record against the brand-new white belts at open mat.
Shop MF Fightwear Rash Guards → Collection
Our rash guards won't make you 23-0.
But if you're going to spend Monday evening beating a guy who learned what an underhook was last Thursday, you might as well look like a world champion while doing it.
Train hard. Wash your rash guard.