Alexey Andreevich Kunchenko (; born May 2, 1984) is a Russian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

(MMA) who competes in the

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division. He is a former

M-1 Global M-1 Global (Mixfight-1) or MMA-1 (Mixed martial arts-1) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in St. Petersburg, Russia which organizes between 10 and 20 competitions per year. It hosted its first major show (rather than co-promoting with oth ...

welterweight champion and competed in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC) and

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

(PFL).

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Kunchenko started his professional MMA career since 2013 and fought primary in Russia under various promoters, notably

. He was the M-1 Global welterweight champion and amassed a record of 18-0 prior to being signed to the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Kunchenko made his UFC debut on August 4, 2018 against Thiago Alves at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Oleinik. He won the fight by unanimous decision. His next fight came on December 1, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa against

Yushin Okami is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2002, Okami has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase, M-1 Global, World Series of Fighting, DEEP, Professional Fighters League, and ONE Championship. He is regarded as one o ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Kunchenko was scheduled to face

Laureano Staropoli Laureano Staropoli (born February 27, 1993) is an Argentine mixed martial artist (MMA) who currently competes in the Welterweight division. He has previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Staropoli begun trai ...

on August 10, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 156. However, it was announced on July 29, 2019 that Staropoli was forced to pull out of the fight due to a broken nose and was replaced by

Gilbert Burns Gilbert Alexander Pontes Burns (born 20 July 1986) is a Brazilian professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Submission grappling, submission grappler. He currently competes in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division of th ...

. Kunchenko lost the fight via unanimous decision. Kunchenko faced

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (born November 12, 1986) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He was the former Jungle Fight welterweight champion in Brazil and currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF ...

on March 14, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 170 ''UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 170'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 28'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 14, 2020 at Nilson Nelson Gymnasium, G ...

. He lost the fight via a controversial unanimous decision.

Professional Fighters League

On February 18, 2021, Kunchenko announced on his Instagram that he had signed a 5 fight contract with

PFL PFL may refer to: Sport * Professional Fighters League, an American mixed martial arts league * Peel Football League, an Australian rules football league * Pioneer Football League, an NCAA Division I FCS football conference * Professional Futsa ...

for their 2021 season, and would be competing in the organization's welterweight division. Kunchenko was set to face fellow UFC vet

Gleison Tibau Janigleison Herculano Alves, better known as Gleison Tibau (; born July 10, 1983) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional since 1999, he has competed for the UFC, Professional Fighters ...

on April 29, 2021 at PFL 2 as the start of the 2021 PFL Welterweight tournament. On March 25, it was announced that Kunchenko pulled out of the bout. Kunchenko faced

Sadibou Sy Sadibou Sy (born November 27, 1986) is a Swedish mixed martial artist who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League. Background Sadibou Sy, a mixed martial artist with Senegalese roots, grew up ...

at PFL 5 on June 17, 2021. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Post PFL

Kunchenko faced Magomedsaygid Alibekov on December 3, 2022 at RCC 13, losing the bout via split decision. Kunchenko faced

on February 11, 2023 at RCC, winning the bout via unanimous decision. Kunchenko faced Shamil Musaev on July 28, 2023 at RCC 16, getting finished in the first round after a spinning back kick to the body and ground and pound. After the bout, Kunchenko announced his retirement. Despite the announcement, Kunchenko made his return to MMA competition in 2024.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** M-1 Global Welterweight Champion (Four times)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 23–5 , Luan Duarte , Decision (unanimous) , MFP 251 x Open Fighting Championship 48 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( ) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, about north of Vladivostok. As of the 2021 Russian c ...

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Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura ( ...

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Syktyvkar Syktyvkar (, , ; , ) is the capital city of the Komi Republic in Russia, as well as its largest city. It is also the administrative center of the Syktyvkar Urban Okrug. Until 1930, it was known as Ust-Sysolsk after the Sysola, Sysola River. Ety ...

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Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...

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Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

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Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (, , ) is a city and the administrative center of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. It is located on Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East, north of Japan. Gas and oil extraction as well as processing are amongst the main industries on ...

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Professional kickboxing record

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Alexander Stetsurenko Alexander Yuryevich Stetsurenko (; born April 20, 1983) is a Russian welterweight kickboxer. He is a three time Tatneft Cup tournament winner, Kunlun Fight tournament winner and World version W5, W5 World champion. Combat Press has ranked him i ...

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Nefteyugansk Nefteyugansk () is a city in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located south of the Ob River, close to the larger city of Surgut. Population: History It was founded on October 16, 1967, after an oil field had been discovered on a smal ...

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Jiří Žák Jiří Žák (born 24 June 1978) is a Czech kickboxer and Muay thai fighter. He is the former ISKA and WMC champion. Martial arts career Žák participated in the 2009 March Souboj Titánů Cruiserweight tournament. He defeated Milan Hrubý b ...

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Dmitry Shakuta Dmitry "Shok" Shakuta (, born August 7, 1980) is a Belarusian Muay Thai super middleweight kickboxer fighting out of Minsk, Belarus for the SK-55 gym. He is an eight-time amateur and professional world champion, most well-known for being the It ...

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Tatneft Arena Tatneft Arena (Russian language, ru: Татнефть Арена) is an indoor arena, indoor sporting arena located in Kazan, Russia. The venue got its name due to a sponsorship with Tatneft, a russian oil company, oil producing company. Opened in ...

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Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

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References

External links

Aleksei Kunchenko
at

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kunchenko, Alexey 1995 births Living people Russian male mixed martial artists Russian male Muay Thai practitioners Russian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing ARB Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Russian people of Ukrainian descent Sportspeople from Prokopyevsk Martial artists from Kemerovo Oblast 21st-century Russian sportsmen