Rafael Aghayev vs Davy Dona - FIGHT PREVIEW
by Community Manager • 2022. Jun 25
Davy Dona joined Karate Combat out of the frustration from losing “point fighting” matches due to excessive contact. He loves the fact that in Karate Combat,
“the one who falls and is knocked out… the one that sleeps, is the one that loses”.
For this reason Davy Dona must be feeling very excited to fight Rafael Aghayev. In 2016 he knocked out the karate legend in a sport karate match where KO power is illegal. As he was celebrating what he thought was a victory, he was disqualified from the tournament.
In this rematch Davy Dona will have the opportunity to prove once and for all that he’s the better fighter and that Aghayev only won because the rules protected him. But that is a tall order for the Frenchman.
Enter The GOAT
Rafael Aghayev isn’t called the GOAT solely due to his massive list of accomplishments in sport karate, but also from having a fighting style that even those who dismiss “point sparring” can respect.
His game is very similar to his countryman Shahin Atamov that I described in the Atamov vs Levine fight preview article, but with some differences.
Aghayev is also a blitz fighter, but utilizes a lot of head movement as well. Since he is often shorter than his opponents, he needed to develop this slick head movement and crispy Tsuki-waza (pugilism) to be able to close the distance on his opponent. Once he closes the distance, he purposely jams himself into his foe to set up his masterful take downs or push his opponents away to land a kick.
When his opponent gets too comfortable with this strategy, Aghayev will mix it up and nail them with a 1-2 or hand trap to reverse punch. Overall, his game is simple, but refined to such a level of mastery that it’s hard to stop.
So this begs the question: did Aghayev merely "get caught", as can happen to anyone, or is Dona truly the superior fighter? Luckily we don’t have to wait long for the answer.
On Saturday, June 25th in Orlando, Florida, AGHAYEV VS DONA is happening LIVE. If you are from Orlando or are able to travel be sure to get your tickets now while they are still available, because you don’t want to miss this!
