Ismail Naurdiev (born August 18, 1996) is an Austrian and Moroccan

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 ...

who currently competes in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

division of 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). He formerly competed in the

Super Welterweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in boxing but also may include other combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF o ...

division of

Brave Combat Federation BRAVE Combat Federation is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Bahrain. The organization was established on 23 September 2016 by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa. BRAVE Combat Federation features mixed martial artists from more than ...

and

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

(ACB).

Early life

Naurdiev was born in

Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

, Russia and his family left the war-torn city and moved to Austria in 2004 when he was nine years old for a safe and better life. He started training in wrestling and transitioned to MMA when he was a teenager. At the beginning of his MMA professional career, Naurdiev did not have any trainers or sparring partners but would accept every fight offered to him for experience.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Naurdiev fought in the European-based promotions, notably

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

(ACA), formally known as Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB), and amassed a record of 17–2 prior to joining UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Naurdiev made his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Santos on February 23, 2019. He faced

Michel Prazeres Michel Prazeres (born July 25, 1981) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who fights in the Welterweight division. He most notably fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Prazeres notably holds two of the four known North-South Choke ...

, replacing injured

Ramazan Emeev Ramazan Dadaevich Emeev (; born May 20, 1987) is a Russian mixed martial artist. He is Combat Sambo World Champion who currently fights in the Welterweight division. He is a former M-1 Global middleweight champion and fought in the Ultimate Fig ...

, and won the fight by unanimous decision. On July 6, 2019, Naurdiev faced

Chance Rencountre Chance Eugene Duke Rencountre (born December 31, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. A professional since 2012, he has also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bell ...

UFC 239 ''UFC 239: Jones vs. Santos'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on July 6, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area. Background A UFC Light Heav ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Naurdiev next faced

Siyar Bahadurzada Siyar Bahadurzada (; born 17 April 1984) is a retired Afghan-born Dutch mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, making him the first Afghan to compete in the promotion. He currently w ...

at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier on September 28, 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Naurdiev faced Sean Brady on February 29, 2020, at

UFC Fight Night 169 ''UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 169'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 27'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 29, 2020 at Chartway Arena i ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. On March 19, 2020, it was reported that Naurdiev parted way with UFC. Later, Naurdiev elaborated that after fighting out his four-fight rookie contract with a record of 2–2, the organization was not interested in re-signing him.

Post-UFC career

On August 24, 2020, news surfaced that Naurdiev had signed with Elite MMA Championship and was expected to make his promotional debut in the promotion's welterweight grand prix at EMC 5 on September 5, 2020. He faced Tymoteusz Łopaczyk and won the fight via unanimous decision, advancing to the grand prix final. In the final, Naurdiev was expected to face Amiran Gogoladze at EMC 6 on October 31, 2020. However, Naurdiev withdrew from the bout due to an injury prior to the whole event being postponed due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic.

Brave Combat Federation

On February 26, 2021, Naurdiev announced that he signed a multi-fight contract with

. Subsequently, it was announced that Naurdiev will be challenging Jarrah Al-Silawi for the BRAVE CF Super Welterweight Championship at Brave CF 50 on April 1, 2021. He lost in the second round after he injured his leg from a kick. Naurdiev faced Olli Santalahti on September 25, 2021, at Brave CF 54. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Naurdiev faced Bekten Zheenbekov on June 18, 2022 at Brave CF 59. He won the bout via TKO stoppage in the first round. Naurdiev faced Marcin Bandel for the vacant Brave CF Super Welterweight Championship at Brave CF 63. He lost the bout in the first round after being dropped by Bandel and submitted with an armbar. Naurdiev looked to rebound against Vadim Kutsy on December 17, 2022 at Brave CF 68, however he lost the bout via TKO stoppage in the first round. Naurdiev moved up to Middleweight and faced Tahar Hadbi on December 8, 2023 at Brave CF 79, winning the bout via guillotine choke in the first round.

Return to UFC

Naurdiev faced Bruno Silva on October 26, 2024 at UFC 308. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Naurdiev was scheduled to face

Jun Yong Park Park Jun-yong (born 27 February 1991), anglicized as Jun Yong Park, is a South Korean mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career Starting his car ...

on May 17, 2025 at

UFC Fight Night 256 ''UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 256'' and ''UFC Vegas 106'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 114'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 17, 2025, at the UF ...

. However, for unknown reasons, the bout was rescheduled to

UFC on ABC 8 ''UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr.'' (also known as ''UFC on ABC 8'') is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on June 21, 2025, at the Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. Ba ...

which will take place on June 21.

Personal life

Naurdiev earned his moniker "The Austrian Wonderboy" due to his flashy, stylist and wild spinning kicks skills.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

**UFC.com Awards ***2019: Ranked #6 Newcomer of the Year & Ranked #7 Upset of the Year *

**Knockout of the Night (One time) *Aggrelin **AG Welterweight Championship (One time) *World Freefight Challenge **Knockout of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 24–7 , Bruno Silva , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 308 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 23–7 , Tahar Hadbi , Submission (guillotine choke) , Brave CF 79 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:10 ,

Isa Town Isa Town (, ''Madīnat ʿĪsā'') is a middle class town located in Bahrain, in the north central part of the country. Etymology The name ''Isa'' refers to Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah, a former ruler of Bahrain, from 1961 to 1999. History Isa To ...

, Bahrain , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–7 , Vadym Kutsyi , TKO (punches) , Brave CF 68 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:23 ,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, Germany , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–6 , Marcin Bandel , Submission (armbar) , Brave CF 63 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:20 ,

, Bahrain , , - , Win , align=center, 22–5 , Bekten Zheenbekov , TKO (punches) , Brave CF 59 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 ,

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

, Uzbekistan , , - , Win , align=center, 21–5 , Olli Santalahti , Decision (unanimous) , Brave CF 54 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Konin Konin () is a city in central Poland, on the Warta River. It is the capital of Konin County and is located within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. In 2021 the population of the city was 71,427, making it the fourth-largest city in Greater Poland af ...

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–5 , Jarrah Al-Silawi , TKO (leg kicks) , Brave CF 50 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:19 , Arad, Bahrain , , - , Win , align=center, 20–4 , Tymoteusz Łopaczyk , Decision (unanimous) , EMC 5 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Germany , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–4 , Sean Brady , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Santos , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 17–2 , Paulistenio Rocha , TKO (punches) , X Fight Nights 16 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 ,

Wien Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 16–2 , Georgi Valentinov , KO (spinning wheel kick and punches) , ACB 74 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:10 ,

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–2 , Ismael de Jesus , Decision (unanimous) , ACB 70 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 15–1 ,

Ben Alloway Ben Alloway (born 19 February 1981) is an Australian mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor since 2010, he was a competitor on '' The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes''. Ben formerly fought for the UFC in the welterweight division. M ...

, KO (kick to the body) , ACB 60 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:24 ,

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 14–1 , Andrei Vasinca , TKO (knee and punches) , ACB 52 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:28 ,

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 , Lászlò Szögyényi , TKO (punches) , WFC 21 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:49 , Bad Voeslau, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Garik Shahbabyan , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Aggrelin 14 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:41 ,

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Daniel Skibiński , KO (knee) , WFC 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

Bad Vöslau Bad Vöslau (; Central Bavarian: ''Bod Vöslau'') is a spa town and Municipality (Austria), municipality in the state of Lower Austria. It is also known as the cradle of the Austrian red wine cultivation. The population, as of 2022, is 12,424. G ...

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , David Mate , TKO (punches) , KraftHerr Fight Night , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 , St. Polten, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Leonardo D'Auria , TKO (punches) , Austrian Fight Challenge 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Asmir Sadiković , Submission (triangle choke) , NAAFS: Europe , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:03 ,

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

, Croatia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Mikko Ahmala , TKO (punches and elbows) , Cage 30 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

Leonding Leonding () is a town southwest of Linz in the States of Austria, Austrian state of Upper Austria. It borders Puchenau and the river Danube in the north, Wilhering and Pasching in the west, Traun in the south and Linz in the east. Leonding is the ...

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Adnan Hadzic , Submission , Fight Night Leonding , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:28 ,

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Ibo Can , TKO (punches) , Charity Fight Night 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:00 ,

Dornbirn Dornbirn () is a city in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is the administrative centre for the district of Dornbirn, which also includes the town of Hohenems, and the market town Lustenau. Dornbirn is the largest city in Vorarlb ...

, Austria , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Cem Kaya , Submission (triangle choke) , GMC 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

Castrop-Rauxel Castrop-Rauxel (), often simply referred to as Castrop by locals, is a former coal mining city in the eastern part of the Ruhr Area within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Geography Castrop-Rauxel is located in Germany between Dort ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Uros Pavlovic , TKO (punches) , Cage Fight Events Europe: Salzburger MMA Challenge , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Robert Oganesyan , Submission (rear-naked choke) , TKB: Fight Night Linz , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:26 ,

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Abdul Shaliqhi , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Respect Austria 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Freistadt Freistadt (, ) is a small Austrian town in the state of Upper Austria in the region Mühlviertel. With a population of approximately 7,500 residents, it is a trade centre for local villages. Freistadt is the economic centre of a district of the sa ...

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Alic Eldridz , Decision (unanimous) , KOTR Austria , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Austria , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Naurdiev, Ismail Living people 1996 births Austrian male mixed martial artists Russian emigrants to Austria Russian male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Sportspeople from Salzburg Austrian people of Chechen descent Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century Austrian sportsmen