On October 16 at the PFL Chicago tournament, Sarvar Hamidov will face Brazilian Rafael Do Nascimento.
To date, Sarvar’s professional record stands at 17 wins and one loss. The only setback in his career occurred in June 2025, when at PFL World Tournament 6 he lost to experienced Magomedov Magomedov by unanimous decision.
Before that loss, Hamidov was undefeated at 16-0 and was considered one of the most interesting unbeaten fighters from Central Asia. Most importantly, the loss did not break him. On the contrary, in his next fight Sarvar returned very convincingly.
On June 27, 2026 at the PFL tournament in San Diego, the Tajik fighter faced Justin Wittzel and finished the bout early in the second round with a rear-naked choke at 4:11.
For Hamidov, this was a crucial victory. He not only returned after his first setback, but reminded everyone that he is capable of finishing fights early and is dangerous not only in prolonged three-round battles. Now the next stage is Chicago.
Rafael Do Nascimento comes into the bout with a record of 13 wins and 2 losses. This is not a tune-up opponent and not a fight that can be viewed solely as maintaining activity. For Sarvar, the meeting with the Brazilian is another test against serious international opposition.
Hamidov has long passed the stage when he simply needed to rack up wins. He has competed in Fight Nights, UAE Warriors, Bellator, and PFL, faced experienced opponents, and has already proven that he can compete at a high level.
His record includes victories over Su Yeon Yu, Fabricio Sarraff, Jose Maria Tome, Kevin Petshi, Marcirley Alves, and Justin Wittzel.
Hamidov’s foundation remains freestyle wrestling. He has a good sense of timing for takedowns, knows how to control the back, doesn’t get lost in prolonged positional exchanges, and is capable of gradually wearing down his opponent.
At the same time, statistics show an important detail: throughout his professional career, Sarvar has won by knockout, submission, and decision. This makes preparation against him more difficult—you cannot build a game plan solely on defending against takedowns.
Yes, some of his most serious fights Hamidov won on points, but it is precisely his recent performances that show he is increasingly striving not just to control, but to convert his advantage into an early finish. The fight with Wittzel was very indicative in this regard.
A victory over Do Nascimento would give Hamidov two wins in a row after his only career loss and a record of 18-1. And that is already the statistics of a fighter who logically deserves bigger fights.
Hamidov is 29 years old—for the featherweight division this is a good age, when there is already considerable experience, but there is still enough time for a full-fledged fight for top positions. Behind him is nearly a decade of professional career, Bellator, UAE Warriors, and PFL.
Sarvar no longer needs the status of “prospect.” He has passed that stage. Now what is needed are concrete results within PFL that will lead him either to title contention or to the division’s main events. Do Nascimento in this sense is exactly the kind of opponent he needs to face.
