Oleg Popov has spent much of his MMA career making life miserable for heavyweight opponents. Pouya Rahmani believes he can make the Russian’s life considerably worse.
On Saturday, November 14, the two heavyweights meet at PFL Dubai inside the Coca-Cola Arena, with a potential shot at the PFL Heavyweight Championship awaiting the winner.
Popov arrives as the 2025 PFL Heavyweight World Tournament champion, a disciplined wrestler with 23 professional victories and an extraordinary ability to control opponents. Rahmani, meanwhile, is an undefeated Iranian powerhouse who has never needed the judges to settle an MMA fight.
The contrast is fascinating.
One man has made a career out of dragging opponents into exhausting, uncomfortable battles. The other has built his reputation on ending those battles before they have properly begun.
And, unfortunately for anyone hoping for a respectful sporting contest, these two really do not like each other.
Pouya Rahmani Has Made This Fight Personal
There is something rather entertaining about a fighter accusing his opponent of being boring while simultaneously threatening to destroy him.
Rahmani has spent much of the build-up questioning Popov’s reputation, fighting style and personality.
The Iranian claims the two were perfectly friendly when they met in Russia, only for Popov to begin criticising him on social media shortly afterwards.
Rahmani did not appreciate that.
He accused Popov of being two-faced, called him a keyboard warrior and suggested the Russian’s association with Fedor Emelianenko was more recognisable than his actual fighting career.
For someone who has just won a major PFL heavyweight tournament, that is quite the accusation.
Popov, however, has been remarkably unmoved.
The 34-year-old believes he is mentally stronger than Rahmani and has pointed towards his experience fighting in hostile environments. He is accustomed to having crowds against him, and Dubai is unlikely to change that.
In fact, Popov has openly admitted that the most attractive thing about fighting Rahmani is the opportunity to remove the zero from his professional record.
There is your motivation.
Rahmani wants to embarrass Popov. Popov wants to hand Rahmani his first defeat.
Neither man appears particularly interested in making friends afterwards.
From Iranian Sheep Farmer to Heavyweight Destroyer
Rahmani’s journey into professional MMA is arguably more extraordinary than anything he has accomplished inside the cage.
Growing up in Amol, northern Iran, he worked alongside his father on the family farm from childhood. Wrestling eventually offered him another direction, and by 2017, he had become a Beach Wrestling World Champion.
Yet his relationship with the sport was far from straightforward.
In 2018, after winning national trials and spending months preparing for the World Championships, administrative problems involving his passport prevented him from competing.
Disillusioned, Rahmani walked away.
He sold his car, returned to farming and began raising sheep on land provided by his father.
Even that venture ended rather spectacularly.
Following an incident involving a worker, his dog and a subsequent legal dispute, Rahmani was forced to sell his sheep to pay a court fine.
For a while, his sporting ambitions appeared finished.
And yet, he returned.
At the 2019 World Beach Games in Doha, Rahmani defeated six opponents in fewer than four hours to claim gold for Iran.
He subsequently travelled to India, despite barely speaking English, and won the 2020 Rustam of India wrestling title. The financial rewards allowed him to purchase land for his father.
That is quite a journey before we even get to MMA.
More recently, Rahmani has experienced considerable personal hardship. Ahead of his February 2026 fight against Karl Williams, he suffered a torn hamstring and lost his coach Masoud Zatparvar and close friends in Iran.
He dedicated his performance to people in his homeland.
It is worth remembering that beneath the extravagant jewellery, aggressive interviews and confrontational public persona is someone whose career has been shaped by setbacks far beyond the cage.
Oleg Popov Knows What It Feels Like to Lose Everything
Popov’s story is considerably quieter.
But there is a wound there, too.
In November 2024, the Russian entered the PFL Heavyweight Final against Denis Goltsov with the opportunity to win the tournament championship and its enormous financial reward.
Instead, he was submitted in the opening round.
Popov attempted a takedown, Goltsov caught him in a triangle choke, and the Russian was rendered unconscious after just 2:55.
A brutal conclusion to an otherwise excellent campaign.
Fedor Emelianenko subsequently advised him to rest, remain calm, correct his mistakes and continue training.
Simple advice.
Effective advice.
Popov returned in 2025 and fought his way through the heavyweight tournament, eventually defeating Alexandr Romanov by split decision after five gruelling rounds to claim the championship and $500,000.
It was not particularly pretty.
But that rather misses the point.
Popov’s greatest strength is his ability to make opponents compete on his terms. He is not interested in collecting spectacular knockouts for social media clips. He wants to win.
Unfortunately, even that philosophy has occasionally caused friction with his employers.
Before the 2025 final, Popov acknowledged criticism from PFL regarding his lack of entertaining performances and suggested his future with the promotion could depend on producing more spectacle.
He won the tournament anyway.
Now, against a fighter who has openly mocked his entertainment value, Popov has another opportunity to demonstrate why effectiveness and excitement are not necessarily the same thing.
The Karl Williams Connection Makes This Fascinating
If you want one statistic that explains why Rahmani is dangerous, look at what happened when both men fought Karl Williams.
In May 2025, Popov defeated Williams by split decision.
It was a competitive, physically demanding contest that required all three rounds to separate the fighters.
Rahmani faced Williams in February 2026.
He submitted him with an arm-triangle choke in the second round.
That result was subsequently overturned to a No Contest following a reported failed doping test, an important distinction when assessing Rahmani’s official record.
Nevertheless, the performance itself demonstrated his considerable physical ability.
Does that mean Rahmani is better than Popov?
Not necessarily.
MMA mathematics rarely works so conveniently.
Styles make fights, and Popov’s ability to absorb pressure, defend takedowns and maintain positional control could present Rahmani with an entirely different problem.
Still, it gives us something intriguing to examine.
One fighter required fifteen minutes to overcome Williams. The other appeared capable of physically overwhelming him.
The question is whether Rahmani can reproduce that explosiveness against someone with Popov’s wrestling pedigree.
Popov’s Wrestling Could Be the Difference
The statistical contrast between these heavyweights is remarkable.
Popov averages just 2.06 significant strikes landed per minute, compared with Rahmani’s considerably more aggressive 6.41.
However, Popov absorbs only 1.10 significant strikes per minute, suggesting that his relatively modest offensive output is accompanied by exceptional defensive discipline.
His wrestling numbers are equally impressive.
The Russian averages 4.96 takedowns per fifteen minutes, with a reported accuracy of 70%, while Rahmani averages 5.29 at 86%.
Both have recorded 100% takedown defence in the tracked data.
That last statistic cannot survive forever.
Someone is going down.
Popov’s greatest advantage may be what happens afterwards.
He averages 6:41 of control time per fight, compared with Rahmani’s 2:08. His PFL heavyweight records include 46:48 of accumulated control time and twelve takedowns in a single contest.
These are not particularly glamorous numbers.
They are, however, the foundation of an exceptionally difficult fighter to beat.
If Popov can repeatedly pin Rahmani against the fence, force him to defend takedowns and make him carry his weight, the Iranian’s explosive early offence could become increasingly expensive.
And that brings us to the biggest uncertainty surrounding Rahmani.
His endurance.
Can Rahmani Survive Fifteen Minutes With Popov?
Rahmani has finished every one of his six recorded MMA contests inside the distance, although the Williams result is officially disputed.
Five ended in the opening round.
The other ended in the second.
He has never experienced the third round of a professional MMA fight.
Popov, by contrast, has already demonstrated that he can compete for twenty-five minutes against elite heavyweight opposition.
That difference could become decisive.
Rahmani’s physical strength is extraordinary. His wrestling background, body-lock takedowns and arm-triangle submissions make him dangerous from positions where many heavyweights would simply attempt to hold their opponents down.
He has also defeated accomplished combat-sports athletes outside MMA, including Ali Isaev in grappling and Anatoly Malykhin in wrestling.
But sustained MMA pressure is a different challenge.
Heavy punches, defensive wrestling, cage control and repeated scrambles can drain even exceptionally conditioned athletes.
Rahmani’s aggressive approach also creates openings.
He frequently commits considerable energy to lifting opponents, advancing position and searching for submissions.
Against Popov, unsuccessful attempts could become costly.
The Russian has been here before.
Rahmani has not.
Prediction: Does Rahmani Have Enough to Stop Popov?
There are two very different ways this fight could unfold.
The first is an early Rahmani explosion.
The Iranian closes distance, lands something substantial, forces Popov backwards and uses his wrestling strength to establish a dominant position.
From there, his ground-and-pound or arm-triangle submission could end proceedings before the Russian settles.
It is entirely plausible.
Popov has previously been caught in submission danger, and Rahmani is arguably among the most physically imposing opponents he has faced.
But the alternative feels slightly more convincing.
Popov survives the opening exchanges, begins disrupting Rahmani’s rhythm and gradually turns the contest into an exhausting wrestling match.
The Iranian’s explosive attacks become less frequent.
His movement slows.
Popov begins collecting control time.
And suddenly, the fighter accused of being boring is doing exactly what has made him so successful.
Prediction: Oleg Popov to win by unanimous decision.
Rahmani is unquestionably dangerous, particularly during the opening five minutes, but Popov’s experience, defensive discipline and proven endurance make him the more reliable choice across three rounds.
Of course, there is something wonderfully unpredictable about heavyweight MMA.
One punch can make fifteen minutes of tactical analysis completely irrelevant.
And Rahmani knows that better than most.
What Would Victory Mean for the PFL Heavyweight Championship?
Saturday’s main event sees Vadim Nemkov defend the PFL Heavyweight Championship against Sergei Bilostenniy.
That creates an interesting situation.
Popov, Nemkov and Bilostenniy are all associated with FedorTeam, meaning the division’s immediate championship picture could become rather complicated.
Popov has a credible argument for facing the winner.
Rahmani, meanwhile, has already indicated that he would prefer a future showdown with Francis Ngannou rather than fighting another member of FedorTeam.
There is also the question of the promotion’s future direction, with Rahmani discussing potential opportunities under the Most Valuable Promotions banner in 2027.
For Popov, victory would reinforce his position among the division’s leading contenders.
For Rahmani, it could transform him from an exciting unbeaten heavyweight into a genuine championship threat.
That is a considerable prize for a three-round contest.
And it explains why neither fighter has been particularly interested in keeping the build-up friendly.
PFL Dubai 2026: Fight Card, Schedule and UK Start Time
PFL Dubai takes place on Saturday, November 14, 2026, at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The event is headlined by Vadim Nemkov against Sergei Bilostenniy for the PFL Heavyweight Championship.
What time does PFL Dubai start in the UK?
The preliminary card is scheduled to begin at 2pm GMT, with the main card following at 6pm GMT.
Popov vs Rahmani is part of the main card, although its exact cage-walk time will depend on the preceding contests.
PFL Dubai 2026 fight card
The card line-up includes:
- Vadim Nemkov vs Sergei Bilostenniy, PFL Heavyweight Championship
- Patrick Habirora vs Omar El Dafrawy
- Pouya Rahmani vs Oleg Popov
- Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs David Martinez
- Sergio Pettis vs Joji Goto
- Khabib Nabiev vs Styve Ngono
- Jacinta Austin vs Aleksandra
PFL Dubai 2026 stream: Where to watch
UK viewers can watch PFL Dubai through talkSPORT Boxing’s YouTube channel, with coverage scheduled to include the preliminary and main cards.
In the United States, coverage is available through ESPN’s streaming services, while STARZPLAY provides coverage across participating Middle Eastern and North African territories.
