The Rookies: UFC Fight Night 238

Bekzat Almakhan could not have drawn a more difficult assignment.

The surging Kazakhstani prospect will make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov in a three-round UFC Fight Night 238 bantamweight showcase on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. One of five first-time Octagon competitors on the bill, Almakhan joins the roster on the strength of an eight-fight winning streak.

Operating out of the Triumph Fights dojo in Uzynagash, Kazakhstan, Almakhan has torn through regional competition in Europe and Asia. The 26-year-old has secured 13 of his 14 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission, seven of them inside one round. Almakhan last appeared on Nov. 18, when he put away Yan Ferraz with punches in the third round of their encounter under the Octagon Promotion banner.

The four other UFC rookies—A.J. Cunningham, Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady, Vinicius de Oliveira and Bernardo Sopai—are booked for duty on the undercard.

Sopai and de Oliveira are set to square off against one another in a three-round bantamweight tilt. Sopai fills in on less than a week’s notice for an injured Yanis Ghemmouri. The 23-year-old Allstars Training Center export has never been finished in his 13-fight career. Sopai extended his current run of consecutive victories to three on Dec. 30, when he struck Geovane Vargas into submission in the first round of their confrontation under the Allstars Fight Night flag. On the other side of the equation, de Oliveira nailed down his spot in the UFC in September, when he punched out Victor Madrigal a little more than three minutes into the first round of their confrontation on Dana White’s Contender Series. A former UAE Warriors champion, “Lok Dog” trains with the Sombra Team in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Meanwhile, Al-Selwady toes the line against two-time Professional Fighters League finalist Loik Radzhabov in a three-round clash at 155 pounds. The Fortis MMA rep punched his ticket to the UFC via DWCS in August, when he upset Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder George Hardwick by unanimous decision. Al-Selwady, 28, now finds himself on five-fight winning streak.

Finally, Cunningham steps up as a short-notice fill-in for Joel Alvarez, as he locks horns with Ludovit Klein in a three-round lightweight prelim. The 29-year-old Arizona native has won seven of his past nine bouts. Cunningham last competed at a Real Deal Championships show on Dec. 9, when he took care of Justice Lamperez with first-round punches.