Asu Almabayev

Almabayev controlled the matchup in Baku by staying a step ahead of Johnson's counters and eventually turning the fight back to his grappling. The official UFC recap framed it as a clear style clash win, and the finish came when Almabayev locked up a Suloev stretch in the third round after steadily forcing Johnson to defend the wrestling threat.

Key moments

• The fight stayed competitive on the feet early, but Almabayev kept steering it toward the phases he preferred.
• Johnson was forced to react to repeated grappling looks instead of building his usual rhythm as a volume striker.
• Almabayev finished with a Suloev stretch at 3:33 of round three.
• The stoppage gave him another ranked-caliber UFC win after the Kape setback.

This was a wild, difficult fight that asked Almabayev to survive Perez's aggression before he could settle into his own game. Perez hurt him and kept charging through the first two rounds, but Almabayev mixed in timely takedowns and counters, then snatched the guillotine just 22 seconds into the third round to turn a chaotic fight into a dramatic submission win.

Key moments

• Perez forced a frantic pace early with charging combinations and heavy kicking attacks.
• Almabayev absorbed momentum swings, including a rough second round, without abandoning the wrestling threat.
• The finish came almost immediately in round three when he locked up the guillotine.
• It was the kind of comeback submission that reinforced how dangerous he remains even when he is losing stretches.

Almabayev bounced back from the Kape loss by dragging Ochoa through a scramble-heavy, wrestling-led fight over three rounds. Ochoa had moments with forward pressure and active submission threats, but Almabayev repeatedly completed takedowns, took the back standing, and banked enough control time to sweep the scorecards.

Key moments

• Ochoa opened aggressively, which gave Almabayev early chances to duck under and wrestle.
• Almabayev repeatedly found body locks, mat returns, and back-take positions even when Ochoa scrambled up.
• Ochoa threatened from guard with armbars, triangles, and guillotines, but Almabayev kept escaping and reasserting top control.
• The three-round decision showed Almabayev could win a grinding technical fight even without a finish.

Kape's speed and explosive entries gave Almabayev problems from the opening round, and the striking damage accumulated quickly. By the second round Almabayev's eye was in bad shape, Kape was still beating him to clean shots, and the fight was eventually stopped in the third as the damage and pace caught up with the Kazakhstan native.

Key moments

• Kape's blitzing left hands and counters opened a damaging cut around Almabayev's eye in round one.
• Almabayev had some body kicks and isolated counters, but he rarely controlled the range for long.
• The eye damage became a central factor by round two and never improved.
• The third-round retirement TKO ended Almabayev's long winning streak and stalled his title push.

Almabayev earned a hard-working decision over Nicolau by making the fight ugly in the right ways and staying just ahead on the cards. Sherdog's round-by-round scoring tracked it as a 29-28 type of performance, with Almabayev doing enough through wrestling pressure and positional work to take each judge's card.

Key moments

• He never let Nicolau settle into a clean striking fight for long stretches.
• The pace and positional pressure mattered more than one huge momentum swing.
• All three official cards came back 29-28 for Almabayev.
• The win pushed his UFC streak forward against one of the division's more seasoned names.

Almabayev won a clear three-round decision by repeatedly forcing Johnson to defend wrestling and back-control sequences instead of letting the taller striker settle at range. Johnson had a few reversals and submission looks, but Almabayev kept finding takedowns, back takes, and top control often enough to bank the fight.

Key moments

• Almabayev turned an early Johnson teep into a body-lock takedown.
• He took Johnson's back late in round one and spent long stretches threatening from control.
• Johnson locked a triangle in round two, but Almabayev escaped and worked back on top.
• Johnson briefly found mount and the back in round three before Almabayev reversed and finished the round in control.

Almabayev controlled this catchweight bout with kicks, clinch work, and a steady stream of takedowns that kept Vergara from building long striking exchanges. By the time the fight reached the final horn, the grappling control and pace had produced a clean 30-27 sweep.

Key moments

• Almabayev opened with kicks, then turned the fight into clinch and back-control work in round one.
• He landed another takedown in round two and spent long stretches on top.
• He piled up 14 takedown attempts, nine completions, and more than nine minutes of control time.
• He mixed in more striking late, then returned to the grappling to shut down any Vergara comeback.

Almabayev's UFC debut quickly became a grappling-led fight once he dragged Osbourne to the mat and kept him pinned under sustained top pressure. The second round followed the same pattern until Osbourne exposed his neck and Almabayev finished the rear-naked choke.

Key moments

• He landed his first takedown about 90 seconds into round one.
• He opened a cut with top strikes while controlling Osbourne on the mat.
• Round two again shifted quickly toward Almabayev's wrestling and mat control.
• He locked up the rear-naked choke at 3:11 of the second round for a successful debut finish.

BRAVE's official recap described this as a one-sided grappling and wrestling clinic from Almabayev before the second-round finish. Maningat stayed active from the bottom early, but Almabayev's pace and control steadily wore him down.

Key moments

• Almabayev pinned Maningat early with grappling control.
• Maningat fired upward strikes from bottom position but could not reverse the fight.
• The official recap noted that Maningat faded as the bout moved deeper.
• Almabayev secured the rear-naked choke at 3:30 of round two.

This was one of Almabayev's tighter BRAVE wins, a competitive split decision over former UFC title challenger Zach Makovsky. The official recap framed it as a high-level flyweight battle, and Almabayev did just enough on two cards to edge the result.

Key moments

• BRAVE promoted the matchup as a battle between elite flyweights rather than a one-sided showcase.
• The official scorecards came back 29-28, 28-29, and 29-28 in Almabayev's favor.
• Makovsky's veteran experience forced Almabayev into a much closer fight than several of his other BRAVE outings.
• The win pushed Almabayev toward BRAVE's number-one-contender spot at flyweight.

Almabayev went the full three rounds with the unbeaten Magaramov and controlled the fight cleanly enough to take a unanimous decision. Detailed written coverage is sparse, but the available event reporting consistently records it as a clear decision win over a quality undefeated opponent.

Key moments

• He won after three full rounds.
• Secondary results pages listed a shutout-style unanimous verdict with 30-27 scores.
• Magaramov entered the bout undefeated at 4-0.
• The win added another strong name to Almabayev's BRAVE run without needing a finish.

Almabayev had to work into the third round before finally stopping Alencar with a punch just 27 seconds into the frame. The available reporting is thin on the round-by-round story, but the official records consistently show a late finish over an opponent who entered with a 10-1 record.

Key moments

• The bout reached the third round before Almabayev found the finish.
• The stoppage came by punch knockout 27 seconds into round three.
• Alencar entered the fight with a 10-1 professional record.
• The win showed Almabayev could stay dangerous even after a longer regional fight.

Almabayev's BRAVE debut ended with a second-round rear-naked choke over former M-1 flyweight champion Aleksander Doskalchuk. BRAVE later pointed back to this result as an early marker in the run that turned Almabayev into one of the promotion's standout flyweights.

Key moments

• The official BRAVE result recorded a rear-naked choke finish at 3:47 of round two.
• Doskalchuk brought championship credentials as a former M-1 titleholder.
• The fight gave Almabayev an immediate statement win in his first BRAVE appearance.
• BRAVE later highlighted this debut as part of the stretch that fueled his rise in the promotion.

Almabayev won the vacant Naiza FC flyweight title by submitting Skakov in the first round of the main event. The fight did not last long, and the official records consistently frame it as a championship win built around an early rear-naked choke.

Key moments

• The bout was contested for the vacant Naiza FC flyweight title.
• It was billed as the event's main event.
• Almabayev finished the fight with a rear-naked choke at 3:29 of round one.
• The victory added regional title hardware during his long pre-UFC winning streak.

Almabayev went five full rounds with former UFC flyweight Chris Kelades and won the interim M-1 Global flyweight title on the scorecards. Strong written round-by-round coverage is limited, but the title stakes and five-round decision are well documented.

Key moments

• The fight was contested for the interim M-1 Global flyweight championship.
• Kelades entered with UFC experience and gave Almabayev a proven opponent over five rounds.
• The bout lasted the full 25 minutes before Almabayev took the unanimous decision.
• The result gave Almabayev one of the most important title wins of his pre-UFC career.

Almabayev finished Pierre Ludet with a second-round guillotine during his M-1 run in Kazakhstan. Sources agree on the method and round even though the exact finish second differs across databases, so the core story remains a clean submission win after the fight moved beyond the opening frame.

Key moments

• The fight reached round two before Almabayev found the finish.
• The finish was a guillotine choke in the second round.
• Record databases agree on the method and round while differing slightly on the exact finish time.
• The bout extended Almabayev's momentum in M-1 before his later interim-title win.

Almabayev stopped Karagishov late in round two with punches in a bout that records note was contested at catchweight after Karagishov missed the flyweight limit. The finish came after Almabayev dragged the fight deep into the second round and closed the show before the horn.

Key moments

• Reputable record pages note that the fight was held at a 130-pound catchweight.
• Almabayev scored the stoppage with punches at 4:09 of round two.
• The event was held in Astana, Kazakhstan.
• It was another finish during the long streak that rebuilt his career after earlier setbacks.

Almabayev beat Akhmaev over the full three-round distance to collect a straightforward unanimous decision. Detailed round notes are scarce, but the verified records consistently show a 15-minute win in Chechnya.

Key moments

• The fight went the scheduled 15 minutes.
• Official listings record a unanimous decision for Almabayev.
• The bout took place in Tolstoy-Yurt, Chechen Republic, Russia.
• It added another steady decision win during Almabayev's climb back up the regional ladder.

Almabayev won a two-round unanimous decision over Jafarli at Almaty Arena. The available records do not offer much round-by-round texture, but they consistently show Almabayev handling the full 10-minute assignment without needing a finish.

Key moments

• This was a two-round fight rather than a standard three-round booking.
• The bout lasted the full 10 minutes before going to the cards.
• Official listings record a unanimous decision for Almabayev.
• The win came in front of a home-country crowd in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Almabayev dropped a close split decision to Mehman Mamedov over three rounds in Almaty. The fight went the full distance, and the major databases record the verdict as split rather than unanimous.

Key moments

• The bout lasted the full 15 minutes before going to the scorecards.
• The loss was recorded as a split decision rather than a unanimous verdict.
• It was Almabayev's second straight defeat in the spring of 2017.
• The setback came in Kazakhstan before he launched the long winning streak that followed.

Almabayev suffered the first loss of his professional career when Ulanbekov stopped him late in the third round. The fight stayed alive deep into the final frame before the pressure finally broke through and the referee halted it as punches landed around the submission attempt.

Key moments

• The bout reached 4:51 of round three before the stoppage.
• Official records list the method as TKO by submission to punches.
• The loss came against future UFC flyweight Tagir Ulanbekov.
• It marked the first setback of Almabayev's professional career.

Almabayev won quickly in Ufa, submitting Ayvazov with an armbar in the opening round. Reputable record pages also note that the fight was held at a 130-pound catchweight, adding a bit of context to one of the early finishes on his record.

Key moments

• The fight ended in round one when Almabayev locked up an armbar.
• The official finish time was 3:41 of the opening round.
• Record pages note that the bout was contested at a 130-pound catchweight.
• It was one of three straight finishes after Almabayev returned from his long layoff.

Almabayev opened his professional career with a three-round unanimous decision over Buseev. Reputable record pages also tag it as his bantamweight debut, giving his first pro win some added career context.

Key moments

• The fight lasted the full 15 minutes before going to the scorecards.
• Official records show a unanimous decision win for Almabayev.
• Record pages note the bout as his professional and bantamweight debut.
• It set the baseline for a career that would later move down to flyweight.