The fighter who begged Dana White for a UFC contract has lost his first professional MMA bout.
Dorobshokh Nabotov famously interrupted UFC 308’s press conference in October to ask White for a contract.
The press conference took place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, before Ilia Topuria handed Max Holloway the first knockout defeat of his career.
Topuria subsequently retained his featherweight title during UFC 308’s main event, where Khamzat Chimaev secured a first-round submission victory over Robert Whittaker too.
Nabotov was unbeaten heading into his ninth pro bout MMA against Matheus Camilo under the ZFN banner.
ZFN is a South Korean MMA promotion and was founded by former UFC star Chan Sung Jung, who is also known as ‘The Korean Zombie’.
But the 25-year-old from Tajikistan tasted defeat to the Brazilian after three tough rounds.
The fight was part of a ‘Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight’ episode, where the UFC President travels the world to look for the next big MMA star.
Although he withdrew from attending the event live, following South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s cabinet issuing a martial law order, White scouted the event remotely through a video call.
Ironically, he has since confirmed that Camilo has now been signed to the UFC following his victory.
White also said ‘The Korean Zombie’ told him Nabotov had been causing issues during fight week.
“I picked the other guy [Camilo],” he said following UFC Tampa on Saturday night.
“He won the fight and he looked damn good doing it. He was the better, well-rounded fighter.
“The other kid [Nabotov] looked very one-dimensional. And ‘The Korean Zombie’ told me he had a lot of problems with that kid that week, threatening to pull out of the fight if he didn’t get more corner men and crazy s*** like that.
“It played out the way it should’ve.”
When he spoke to White for the first time, Nabotov said: “I am an undefeated elite athlete, nine wins – zero losses.
“Dana I don’t have a question. I came here for a fight on short notice. I neber had a manager [and] did it all by myself.
“Please give me [a] chance Dana. I want to fight in UFC – please give me – I’m ready to show. I want to fight.”
But now it seems the Tajikistan native has lost his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of joining the UFC.
