Makhmud Muradov

Makhmud Muradov (born February 8, 1990) is an Uzbek professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight divisions of Oktagon MMA, where he is the current interim Oktagon Middleweight Champion and Oktagon Light Heavyweight Champion. He formerly competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Background Makhmud Muradov was born on February 8, 1990, in Soviet Tajikistan, to a father who was a Tajik national and a mother who was from Soviet Uzbekistan. In 1993, he fled as a refugee with his family to his mother's native Uzbekistan due to the ongoing Tajik civil war, and finally, in 2019, he was granted Uzbek citizenship.

He trained boxing in his youth before transitioning to kickboxing and became Junior Uzbek Kickboxing Champion under K-1 rules.

Muradov was forced to drop out of school and start working at the age of 15 to provide for his family after his father got involved in a car accident that left him permanently disabled. At the age of 17, he began his successful combat sambo career, and because of that, he earned a well-paid job as a security guard in Russian Siberia. He was seriously stabbed and shot several times while working there. When his father got released from hospital after four years, his family had to sell their apartment to pay for healthcare bills. Muradov returned to Uzbekistan, and eventually managed to make enough money from competing in combat sambo to be able to buy the apartment back. However, by his account, it was hard to get a good job without contacts, so in 2011, then 21 years old Muradov moved to the Czech Republic in search of a better-paying job. There, he worked various jobs such as construction site worker, cleaner, and waiter. He started training Muay Thai and MMA in Prague under the tutelage of Petr Kníže, who allowed Muradov to train and sleep in his gym for free and also helped him get a more comfortable job as a bouncer. Muradov then started his professional MMA career in 2012.

Mixed martial arts career Early career In September 2015, Muradov fought at WAKO K1 European Cup 2015 tournament and lost in the first match against Polish champion Bartosz Dołbień by unanimous decision."Mezinárodní MČR K-1 2015 (Evropský pohár WAKO)'" , World Association of Kickboxing Organizations. Retrieved on 28 September 2019."Mezinárodní MČR K-1 2015 (Evropský pohár WAKO)'" , Czech Fullcontact Union (WAKO Czech Republic). Retrieved on 02 October 2019."Bohužel dnes to "Machovi" nevyšlo..'", Facebook.com/SoubojTitanu, 2015/09/25. Retrieved on 10 October 2019.

In February 2018, Muradov became the world's first mixed martial artist signed by Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s The Money Team. They became friends after they met each other at Prague's Lávka Club in March 2017.

Before entering the UFC, Muradov held a 22–6 MMA record and won multiple regional middleweight championships (XFN, WKN, Caveam, WASO)."Makhmud Muradov : Jsem namotivovanej, protože chci vyhrát", Czech Fighters, Czech Republic, 2018/10/05. Retrieved on 28 September 2019."Makhmud Muradov: V MMA se může stát cokoliv", Czech Fighters, Czech Republic, 2016/06/09. Retrieved on 28 September 2019."Night of Warriors 15: Vítězství Pešty, Muradova, Vémoly a Dvořáka – VÝSLEDKY", Fight Club News, Czech Republic, 2019/04/07. Retrieved on 28 September 2019.

Ultimate Fighting Championship 2019 Muradov made his promotional debut against Alessio Di Chirico on September 28, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 160 as a replacement for injured Peter Sobotta. He took the fight on 12 days notice. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

As of September 29, 2019, he was ranked #1 in the Tapology's Eastern European middleweight rankings.

In his second UFC fight, on December 7, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 7, Muradov faced Trevor Smith as a replacement for Alonzo Menifield. He won via KO in the third round and was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus.

In the official UFC 2019 year-end list of the Ten Best Newcomers, Muradov was ranked #7.

2020 Muradov was scheduled to face Antônio Carlos Júnior on March 14, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 170, as a replacement for Brad Tavares who had to pull out due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. In turn, Carlos Júnior suffered from an unspecified injury and the bout was cancelled from the event.

Muradov was expected to face Karl Roberson on April 18, 2020, at UFC 249. However, Muradov was forced to pull from the event due to COVID-19 pandemic travel restriction, and Roberson was pulled from the event and was scheduled to meet Marvin Vettori on April 25, 2020.

On October 18, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 180, Muradov was expected to face Krzysztof Jotko. However, the fight was rescheduled for October 31 at UFC Fight Night 181, but Jotko was pulled from the fight, citing injury, and he was replaced by Kevin Holland. Muradov was then also pulled from the fight after testing positive for COVID-19 and he was replaced by newcomer Charlie Ontiveros.

2021 Muradov faced Andrew Sanchez on January 24, 2021, at UFC 257, as a replacement for André Muniz. He won the fight via technical knockout in round three. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Muradov faced Gerald Meerschaert on August 28, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 30. He lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in round two.

Muradov was scheduled to face Misha Cirkunov on February 26, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 202. However, Muradov pulled out in late January due to a hand injury and he was replaced by Wellington Turman.

2022 Muradov was scheduled to face Abusupiyan Magomedov on September 3, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 209. However, Muradov withdrew due to injury was replaced by Dustin Stoltzfus.

Muradov faced Caio Borralho on October 22, 2022, at UFC 280. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

2023 Muradov was expected to face Abusupiyan Magomedov on March 11, 2023, at UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili. At the end of February, it was announced that Muradov had pulled out of the bout again.

Muradov faced Bryan Barberena on July 22, 2023, at UFC on ESPN+ 82. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

2024 Muradov faced Aliaskhab Khizriev on February 3, 2024, UFC Fight Night 235. After being poked in the eye seconds into round one by Khizriev, the bout was called off and deemed a "no contest" due to an accidental eye poke.

Muradov was scheduled to face Michel Pereira on May 4, 2024, at UFC 301. However, Muradov withdrew due to an infection.

On May 4, 2024, it was announced that Muradov was released from the UFC, despite signing a new deal recently.

Return to Oktagon MMA On June 8, 2024, it was announced that Muradov re-signed with Oktagon MMA.

Muradov faced Scott Askham on September 21, 2024, at Oktagon 61. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Muradov was scheduled to face Joliton Lutterbach on March 8, 2025, at Oktagon 68. However, Lutterbach was forced to withdraw due to injury and was replaced by Yasubey Enomoto. He won the fight via knockout in round two.

Muradov defeated Patrik Kincl for the interim Oktagon Middleweight Championship on June 14, 2025, at Oktagon 72.

Will Fleury was scheduled to face Daniel Škvor for the light heavyweight title on August 1, 2026, at Oktagon 92. However, Škvor withdrew from the bout due to injury his pectoral muscle and was replaced Muradov (who moved up a weight class debut). Muradov won the title by TKO in the second round.

Personal life A professional MMA competitor since 2012, Muradov is both the first Tajik-born and Uzbek UFC fighter, and the world's first mixed martial artist signed by Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s The Money Team.

Besides his native Uzbek, Muradov speaks Czech, Russian and English and is conversational in Polish and Arabic.

Muradov is a non-denominational Muslim and he does not strictly observe the Ramadan fast.

Since 2018, he has been dating Monika Bagárová, a Czech singer. On May 27, 2020, Bagárová gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Rumia. The couple split up in December 2021. However, in February 2022, Bagárová confirmed they had reconciled. They separated again in July 2022. In March 2023 Muradov confirmed relationship with Czech reality TV star Sabina Karásková.

Muradov has stated multiple times that he is very patriotic towards the Czech lands and Prague. He called himself an “Uzbek with a Czech heart” or a “Czech from Uzbekistan”, and also a “Czech representative” and a “proud Praguer”. Because of that, Muradov turned down Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s offer to permanently relocate from Prague to Las Vegas in Nevada, where he is training at both the Dewey "Black Kobra" Cooper's gym and the Mayweather Boxing Club, as well as working for Mayweather Jr. himself.

During his early time in Prague, Muradov appeared in autoerotic porn productions and solo softcore porn photo shoots under the stage name "Akhmed Virt" for William Higgins' gay pornographic production company."Akhmed Virt", WilliamHiggins.com, Retrieved on 10 March 2020."Makhmud Muradov", Porn Base Central, Retrieved on 21 September 2020.

Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial OKTAGON MMA OKTAGON interim Middleweight Champion (One time, current)

Ultimate Fighting Championship Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Trevor Smith and Andrew Sanchez UFC.com Awards 2019: Ranked #7 Newcomer of the Year X FIGHT NIGHTS XFN Middleweight Championship (One time)"Makhmud Muradov vs David Ramirez | XFN 11", XFN TV, 2018/08/14. Retrieved on 29 October 2020. One successful title defense"Makhmud Muradov vs Deyan Topalski | XFN 12 Plzeň", XFN TV, 2018/11/12. Retrieved on 29 October 2020. Interim XFN Middleweight Championship (One time) World Kickboxing Network WKN MMA International Middleweight Championship (One time)"Tomáš "Thor" Kužela vs. Makhmud Muradov na Night of Warriors IX o pás WKN !!", NightOfWarriors, 2016/02/12. Retrieved on 07 October 2020."Makhmud Muradov: Doufám, že nad Tomášem zvítězím", Czech Fighters, 2016/02/28. Retrieved on 10 October 2020."Makhmud Muradov vs. Tomas Kuzela", Pavel Stefko, 2016/03/14. Retrieved on 29 October 2020. Caveam Caveam National Middleweight Championship (Champion of Caveam) (One time)"Selim Agaev, soupeř Makhmuda Muradova si během přípravy zranil rameno a nemůže nastoupit do zápasu. Máme tedy pro Makhmuda Muradova, stejně jako pro Pína ještě větší výzvu.", BitvaRoku, 2015/03/11. Retrieved on 10 October 2020."Píno i Makhmud mají na Bitvě roku nové soupeře", Czech Fighters, 2015/03/11. Retrieved on 07 October 2020."Bitva roku - preview", Extraround.cz, 2015/03/16. Retrieved on 10 October 2020."Makhmud Muradov vs. Andreas Birgels", Tapology, 2015/03/19. Retrieved on 07 October 2020. World Association of Sporting Organizations WASO MMA European Middleweight Championship (One time)NOW MMA WASO European title Tato Primera vs Makhmud Muradov vitez Makhmud Muradov 1 kole KO), Czechfighters.cz, 2019/04/06. Retrieved on 10 October 2020.Češi řádili a slavili. Brutální K.O. na bradu, škrcení a totální nadvláda, Sport.cz, 2019/04/07. Retrieved on 21 October 2020.Night of Warriors 15: Pešta a Muradov ovládli titulové bitvy, Vémola ztloukl Francouze!, blog.O2.cz, 2019/04/09. Retrieved on 21 October 2020."Night of Warriors 15: Tato Primera (ESP) vs. Makhmud Muradov (UZB)", O2 TV Sport, 2019/04/08. Retrieved on 29 October 2020.

Kickboxing Uzbekistan Kickboxing Federation Junior National K-1 Kickboxing Champion (One time) Fame MMA Winner of the Fame MMA S-Class Tournament

Mixed martial arts record

Makhmud Muradov

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