You can almost hear the turning gears in Albert Tumenov's brain. And there are still two more days until he fights.
Tumenov is cutting weight and doing media—that familiar, if volatile, combination—in advance of his Sunday appointment with grappling wizard Gunnar Nelson at UFC Fight Night 87 in The Netherlands, and there is consideration behind each word he offers. What should he reveal? What to hold back? What's the quickest route from point A to point B?
No one's here to argue that Tumenov's phone manners have anything to do with his disposition in professional fighting, but there are parallels, and they may help demonstrate what makes the 24-year-old arguably the brightest prospect in the UFC today.
"I calculate everything in the cage. Everything has meaning," Tumenov said through an interpreter in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report. "Every strike, everything, all of it has meaning. That's why I am called Einstein."
Tumenov (18-2) was only six years old when he and his father, Khusein, started piecing together the combat computer in his head. He acquired a taste for karate as a student in his father's gym in Nalchik, a medium-sized city on the foothills of Russia's Caucasus Mountains. A knack for karate led to hand-to-hand combat, a blended martial art not unlike the more familiar Russian discipline of sambo. Tumenov won two Russian titles in the sport.
Does @ATumenov have good enough takedown defence to keep Gunnar Nelson at bay? We'll find out at #UFCRotterdam! pic.twitter.com/zrOwCylt2t
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 5, 2016
"It's pretty much the same thing as MMA," Tumenov said. "It's strikes, takedowns, grappling. Some things are different. So for me, it was a very smooth transition to MMA."
That was always the plan, by the way. The calculation, if you will. Get really good at fighting, then go to the biggest stages. After shredding the Russian circuits, Tumenov signed with the UFC. His Octagon debut? It came in Brazil, against grinder Ildemar Alcantara. Tumenov, age 21, had never been outside his home nation. He lost by split decision.
"It kind of didn't go my way," Tumenov said. "It was difficult to acclimate...This was winter by us, and there it is 30 degrees Celsius. I was out of my comfort."
The culprit—to the extent Tumenov is willing to acknowledge and discuss it—was underestimating his own logistics and Alcantara, a tough, undistinguished veteran. Tumenov lost muscle mass during the long travel and subsequent adjustment period, and that couldn't have helped him against Alcantara, a huge welterweight with a penchant for imposing his physical will.
As you might expect, Tumenov learned and came back smarter. Now, whenever he has a fight coming up in North or South America, he conducts part of his camp at K Dojo Warrior Tribe, a Fairfield, New Jersey, training gym and home away from home for a slew of Russian fighters.
Tumenov hasn't dropped a contest since that first defeat, ripping off five in a row. Three of those wins came by knockout. Although he's a well-rounded competitor, striking is Tumenov's stock in trade.
His left hook is lethal. Ditto his kicks. His combinations are sharp, unrelenting and—worst of all for opponents—imbued with an AI that routinely circumvents any defense. And he does it all without ever really exposing himself to opponents. The end result is brilliant violence, and it has put the UFC welterweight division on notice.
Nelson, though, is a clear step up. Although the Icelander has a reasonably rounded game, there's not much debate over who has the striking advantage. That would be Tumenov. The grappling phase is Nelson's wheelhouse, as evidenced by his world jiu-jitsu championships and 10 submission wins in pro MMA. So Nelson definitely has the edge there, even if those particular scales are a little more balanced.
How does Tumenov see the action going if it hits the ground? Can Nelson take him down? Has Tumenov been drilling his submission defense?
Einstein's gears turn and spit out the most efficient solution.
"There is no ifs in this," he said. "Everyone thinks he has this great grappling thing. But that is not a problem for me. I'm just going to knock him out and leave."
The Beaten Path is Bleacher Report's ongoing series highlighting MMA's top prospects. For the previous interview in the series, click here. All quotes obtained firsthand. Scott Harris covers MMA for Bleacher Report. For more, follow Scott on Twitter.
