Osmanli's Buggy Choke Sets Up a Grudge Match Against Akylbek Uulu at TUF 34 Finals

Mehemmedeli Osmanli booked his spot in the TUF 34 bantamweight final the hard way — and the flashy way. The 12-1 prospect, who owns eight submissions on his record, put Christian Strong to sleep with a second-round buggy choke, one of the more unusual finishes you'll see in a semifinal. It sets up a Sept. 26 date at UFC Vegas 121 opposite fellow Team Michael Bisping fighter Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu, who carries a 10-3 mark and six submission wins of his own into the matchup.

The finale doesn't stop there. Both title fights on the card are civil wars: Osmanli vs. Akylbek Uulu on the men's side, and Team Daniel Cormier's Tina Black against unbeaten Melissa Amaya (8-0) in the strawweight tournament. That's four finalists, two coaching staffs, and — according to at least one man who was there — a whole lot of leftover bad blood.

The Choke Everyone Saw Coming

TUF 34 contestant and MMA Fighting guest blogger Xavier Franklin says the buggy choke was no surprise to anyone inside the house. He explained that Osmanli had already tapped Strong with the exact same hold twice back in the tryouts. Franklin recalled watching cageside next to Akylbek Uulu, who kept insisting Osmanli only needed to frame and wait instead of trying to lift and slam — because slamming yourself only sinks you deeper into the choke.

For a moment, it looked like Strong had a way out. Franklin said Osmanli briefly lost the grip when Strong made himself big, then Strong essentially climbed back into it. One more squeeze and the lights went out. It's a fitting headline finish for a bantamweight whose game is built on the ground.

Two Wolves, One Team

The Osmanli–Akylbek Uulu final isn't a manufactured storyline. Franklin described the two Team Bisping fighters as being constantly at odds in the gym and back at the house, with one training session boiling over when Akylbek Uulu planted what Osmanli read as an illegal elbow. Franklin said Osmanli went ballistic, demanded his MMA gloves, and — with Bisping absent — a coach simply let the sparring continue. He questioned why the staff kept pairing two guys who plainly can't stand each other.

Franklin isn't picking a winner yet, saying both men have a real shot at the crown. But he was blunt about the animosity, likening it to the Conor McGregor–Khabib Nurmagomedov feud and warning there could be trouble in the crowd between the two camps' countrymen on fight night. If the beef is even half as real as he claims, Sept. 26 could deliver more than a technical grappling clinic.

As for the rest of the season, Franklin tipped the strawweight semifinal between Black and Delphine Benouaich (7-2) as the standout scrap — a razor-thin three-rounder that had Dana White on his feet. He credited the women for carrying the season, and shared a softer note about Bisping, recalling a restaurant dinner where the coach finally dropped the character and talked to his fighters like a mentor rather than a TV villain.