Watch enough fights and you’ll reach a point where you can just pick out potential superstars because of the way they carry themselves and the little flashes that fleck their early performances.
Agapova is one of those fighters.
There was something intriguing about the 23-year-old from Kazakhstan when she appeared on the Contender Series last summer, and her loss to Tracy Cortez didn’t do anything to dampen that potential. But when Agapova decided to sign with Invicta FC, relocated to South Florida in order to train at American Top Team and then earned back-to-back finishes literally a month apart, it was clear she was one to keep close watch over going forward.
Earlier this summer, Agapova made her UFC debut and it took her a little more than half a round to show she’s a full-blown potential superstar as she made quick work of Hannah Cifers and then exhibited some strong Joanna Jedrzejczyk vibes in her post-fight moments. Now 9-1 as a professional, she gets another potential showcase opportunity this weekend when she squares off with Shana Dobson.
As someone who is always quick to want to pump the brakes when people are getting too far ahead of themselves with prospects, I have to be sure to rein myself in here, as well, as Agapova is still extremely young and in the very early stages of her career, plus she lost a decision to the best fighter she’s faced thus far. She’s a couple years away from being a contender and needs to be brought along accordingly.
That being said, training at ATT is a tremendous positive as she is surrounded by elite coaches and training partners, and there is no denying she has that “It Factor” that jumps off the screen at you. Again, that doesn’t mean she’s destined for greatness and incapable of falling short of expectations, but as far as UFC sophomore appearances go, this is one you’re going to want to check out because if everything goes according to plan, Agapova is someone you’re going to be hearing a great deal about in the coming months and years.
