Ilkhom Nozimov stands tall as one of the best lightweight MMA fighters on the planet, but the fandom side came out of him during a recent interaction with his idol Mirko Cro Cop. There is a rich history related to combat sports shows in Japan for New Year’s Eve, with Nozimov authoring a thirteen-second KO over Roberto Satoshi de Souza to become the Rizin lightweight champion at their 2025 NYE show.
This was anecdotally significant because he got into MMA watching iconic fights in Japan and when asked about the importance of winning a championship on one of the New Year’s Eve cards in the fashion that he did, Nozimov said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yeah, because I was watching Pride and Rizin before, I was expecting the massive event, but at the opening ceremony when I saw it with my own eyes, I actually didn’t expect that to be that big, that massive. In the moment when I saw how huge it is, I realized that’s what I was working for, that I was waiting for. To be in arenas to be in massive events like this and that’s when it finally happened.”
Rizin has one of the more beautiful belts in combat sports today and when asked how it felt being wrapped around his waist, Nozimov stated [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yeah, it’s so beautiful actually. When you take picture with it, it always shines. I try to always have it near me, not further than one meter away from me [laughs].”
Mirko Cro Cop inspired Ilkhom Nozimov to get into combat sports
One of those beautiful Rizin titles was also held by Mirko Cro Cop, who is closing in on the 10-year anniversary of winning his Grand Prix title with Rizin at their 2016 NYE event. Mirko Cro Cop was specifically influential in getting Nozimov into MMA, and he was at the 2025 RFF New Year’s Eve show in more of an ambassador role.
When asked if there were any interactions that were had with the former Pride grand prix champion and K1 grand prix champion at the 2025 NYE show, Nozimov quipped [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“I was so surprised when I find out that Cro Cop is going to be there. Actually like when I was a kid, I had a VHS tape with Cro Cop Pride highlights. When I got the confirmation that I’m going to be fighting on this New Year’s event, the music from this highlight, I decided that it’s going to be my walkout music. Then during faceoffs when I saw Cro Cop there, I was super excited.”
“I get to meet him and it was like; me finishing Satoshi, like when I saw him during the face off that was like a final straw in me realizing that this is my moment. I’m going to take it. Everything is going my way and yeah. I get to meet him after the event and I actually told him my story that his highlights that’s something that inspired me to do the combat sports. That inspired me to dream about fighting in Japan and winning belts in Japan.”
“I get to know him after this event on a personal level. He actually followed me on Instagram and invited me to train with him for a couple of weeks. So, it’s; I consider it a second win for me, too. Yes.”
When touching upon what it would be like to share this training experience with Mirko Cro Cop, whenever that ends up happening, Nozimov said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“For me, it’s going to be a huge experience. It’s going to be another dream come true.”
