Azamat Ruslanovich Bekoev (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Азамат Русланович Бекоев) is a Russian professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the

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

(UFC). Bekoev is a former LFA Middleweight Champion.

Professional career

Early career

Bekoev made his professional debut on September 27, 2015. He took on two fighters that night as part of the MPF Moscow Rumble Open Cup. His first opponent of the night was Alexander Markosyan, whom he would beat via submission in the first round. His next opponent was Alexey Maslov, whom he would also beat via a first round submission.

Absolute Championship Berkut

His next fight would come over a year later for Russian promotion

Absolute Championship Berkut Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA), formerly known as Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB), is a Russian mixed martial arts, kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu organization and one of the leading promotions in Europe. To date, most events have been ...

. He faced fellow countryman Dzhabrail Yasaev. Bekoev would win the fight via submission in the third round.

Return to regionals

After a nine month layoff, Bekoev would return in a bout against Ramazan Magomedov. Bekoev would win the fight via yet another submission, this time in the third round. He would return two months later, where he would yet again have two fights in one night. His first opponent was

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

's Mustafaliatif Muhammadi. Bekoev would win via knockout fifteen seconds into the first round. His next opponent was

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

's Sarkhan Garaev whom he would also defeat via a first round knockout.

Return to Absolute Championship Berkut

After a nine month hiatus, Bekoev would return against Amirkhan Kukaev. Bekoev would win the fight via submission in the second round. He would return six months later against Elshad Guseynov. He would win via a second round submission. Two months later, he would take on Magomedrasul Gasanov. Bekoev would unfortunately lose the fight via a Split Decision, and thus suffering his first defeat. He would return three months later in a bout against

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

's Mikhail Allakhverdian. Bekoev would win via a Unanimous Decision.

Return to regionals

After a nine month hiatus, Bekoev would return against

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

's Mbazou Nana. Bekoev would win via a first round TKO.

Absolute Championship Akhmat

Bekoev would return to now rebranded

Absolute Championship Akhmat Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA), formerly known as Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB), is a Russian mixed martial arts, kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu organization and one of the leading promotions in Europe. To date, most events have been ...

ten months after his last fight. He faced Araz Mamedov, whom he defeated via a first round TKO. He would return two months later against Ibragim Magomedov. Bekoev would lose this fight via a Split Decision, thus suffering his second career defeat. His next fight would come four months later against

Chris Honeycutt Chris Honeycutt (born July 25, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly fought in Bellator's Middleweight division. Background Born in Brook Park, Ohio, Honeycutt began wrestling at the age of four. Honeycutt attended North Andov ...

. Bekoev would win via submission in the second round. He would return five months later in a bout against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

's Rafał Haratyk. Bekoev would lose this fight via submission in the third round. This would also mark his last fight in the promotion.

International fights

Bekoev would return two months later in a bout against Maksim Myalkin, whom he would beat via a first round submission. After an eleven month hiatus, Bekoev would return in a bout against

's Behnam Salimi. Bekoev would win via a first round TKO.

Legacy Fighting Alliance

Four months later, Bekoev would make his debut with American based promotion

Legacy Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

. He would take on

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

's Renato Valente. Bekoev would win via Unanimous Decision.

LFA Middleweight Champion

His next fight came four months later where he took on Dylan Budka for the interim LFA Middleweight Championship. Bekoev would win the fight via a Split Decision. After a six month layoff, he would return to take on lineal champion Lucas Fernando. Bekoev would win via a Unanimous Decision and thus winning the undisputed title. His first title defense came six months later, when he faced Chauncey Foxworth. Bekoev would successfully defend his title via a second round knockout.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Bekoev would make his UFC debut on short notice against Zachary Reese on the undercard of UFC 311, after Reese's original opponent, Sedriques Dumas pulled out during fight week. Bekoev would go on to win the fight via a first round TKO, and thus successfully winning his UFC debut match. His next fight would come four months later, when he took on Ryan Loder. Bekoev would win the fight via yet another first round TKO, and this time, he earned himself a Performance of the Night bonus.

Championships and accomplishments

** LFA Middleweight Championship (One time) *

**Performance of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 20–3 , Ryan Loder , TKO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:44 ,

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moine ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–3 , Zachary Reese , KO (punches) , UFC 311 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:04 ,

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–3 , Chauncey Foxworth , KO (punch) , LFA 186 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:32 ,

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–3 , Lucas Fernando , Decision (unanimous) , LFA 173 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–3 , Dylan Budka , Decision (split) , LFA 160 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lo ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 , Renato Valente , Decision (unanimous) , LFA 152 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee ( sac, Shânîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Behnam Salimi , TKO (punches) , Octagon 36 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:25 ,

İzmit İzmit () is a district and the central district of Kocaeli province, Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental ...

, Turkey , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Maksim Myalkin , Submission (guillotine choke) , Uzbekistan MMA Association: International Murod Khanturaev Memorial Tournament , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:10 ,

Fergana Fergana ( uz, Fargʻona/Фарғона, ), or Ferghana, is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 420 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km west of Andijan, and less than 20 km ...

, Uzbekistan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 , Rafał Haratyk , Submission (scarf hold) , ACA 128 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:33 ,

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

, Belarus , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , ACA 122 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:33 ,

, Belarus , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–2 , Ibragim Magomedov , Decision (split) , ACA 116 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Araz Mamedov , TKO (punches) ,