Osmanli Says Akylbek Does Not Deserve a TUF Rematch
Mahammadali Osmanli answered Ilimbek Akylbek’s rematch request with one of the harshest public shots of the week.
Akylbek asked the UFC to run the fight again after winning The Ultimate Fighter 34 bantamweight final by disqualification on September 26. Osmanli posted the reply on Instagram and left no room for a polite follow-up.
“Sneaky b*tch… I told you inside the Octagon, ‘Come on, get up and fight me like a man,’” Osmanli wrote. “But you lowered your head, with fear in your eyes.”
He went further. “You’re not a man, and you’re not a fighter. Fighters don’t do that. And now you’re asking for a rematch? You don’t even deserve for me to spit in your face.”
The finish that started this exchange came at 2:19 of the first round at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas, the same card headlined by Raul Rosas Jr. and Raoni Barcelos. Referee Kerry Hatley disqualified Osmanli for an illegal knee to a grounded opponent.
Akylbek was on his knees when the knee landed flush to the head. He could not continue. The Kyrgyz fighter left with the TUF trophy and a win that no one in the building had drawn up.
Osmanli entered as the favorite after submitting both of his TUF opponents, including a rare buggy choke in the semifinals. The Azerbaijan southpaw came in 12-1. The loss dropped him to 12-2 and 0-1 in the UFC.
Akylbek came in 10-3 and left 11-3. He is the first fighter from Kyrgyzstan to win The Ultimate Fighter. The plaque is his. The manner of the win is why the argument will not die.
Osmanli has already said he does not buy the aftermath. He told followers on Instagram Live that Akylbek grabbed his leg after the knee and only “put on a show” once the referee stepped in. That is Osmanli’s claim. The official result is still a disqualification.
Akylbek’s graphic made the next ask public. Written in Russian, it said he had asked the UFC to organize a rematch with Osmanli. That is the post Osmanli answered.
A rematch would give both men what the finale did not. Osmanli wants a fight that ends on strikes or a tap, not a foul. Akylbek wants a win that does not need an explanation. The UFC has not booked it.
The bad blood did not start in the cage. The two spent the TUF 34 season on Michael Bisping’s team and carried the friction into fight week. Saturday made it public. The Instagram story made it personal.
Bantamweight does not need another unfinished TUF final sitting on the schedule. It also does not need a champion-in-name-only narrative attached to a fighter who never got to finish the round. Matchmakers can ignore the insults and still see the same problem. Two new UFC bantamweights have one official result and no clean fight.
Osmanli is 22. Akylbek is 23. Both are under contract. Both just made their octagon debuts on the same night. The next booking for either man will show whether the promotion wants the argument settled in the cage or moved on from.
Until then, the record says Akylbek won. The video says Osmanli fouled him. Osmanli’s story says he will not give him the respect of a rematch. Those three facts can sit together without anyone having to pretend the finale answered the question.
