Ramiz Brahimaj (born November 17, 1992) is an American

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 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 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 ( ...

Background

Brahimaj started training seriously for MMA when he was 17 while he was a junior in high school. He had always loved fighting and always loved the UFC. Brahimaj is the son of

Kosovar-Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo (, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars (), constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the Albanians, ethnic Albanian sub-group of Ghegs, who inhabit the ...

parents.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In his MMA debut, he faced Richard Bailey and submitted him via rear-naked choke in the first round. Brahimaj also tapped out his next three opponents that included wins over Josh Sturgill and David Lopez. Then in his promotional debut with

Legacy Fighting Alliance The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merg ...

at LFA 28, he submitted Sidney Ben Simmons in round one. Brahimaj tapped out Bilal Williams via rear-naked choke in the first round at LFA 33. He lost his first bout against Evan Cutts at LFA 40 via unanimous decision. Brahimaj faced UFC veteran

William Macário William Francisco da Silva Macário (born July 1, 1991) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing as a welterweight. A professional competitor since 2010, he has formerly competed for the UFC and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fi ...

at LFA 47 and won by way of guillotine choke in the second round. After losing to Justin Patterson at LFA 55 via unanimous decision, Brahimaj tapped out Carlos Martinez in the first round via arm-triangle choke at LFA 62. After being booked against Miguel Baeza on

Dana White's Contender Series Dana White's Contender Series, formerly named Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series, is an American mixed martial arts promotion. In May 2017, the UFC announced White would hold the competition weekly on UFC Fight Pass (It has since been mov ...

, a tumor was found behind his left eye in his preliminary testing for the bout and had to have surgery to remove it.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Brahimaj was scheduled to face

Takashi Sato is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. A professional since 2013, he is most notable for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Early life Born to a Japanese father and Taiwanese mother, S ...

on June 27, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker but the fight was scratched due to one of Brahimaj's cornermen testing positive for COVID-19. Brahimaj made his UFC debut against

Max Griffin Max Griffin (born November 29, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Griffin currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2009, Griffin has also competed for ...

on November 7, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira. He lost the fight via technical knockout due to a doctor stoppage after Brahimaj's ear was split open in round three. Brahimaj faced Sasha Palatnikov on August 21, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum. He won the fight via technical submission due to a rear-naked choke in round one. Brahimaj faced

Court McGee Court McGee (born December 12, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2007, McGee mostly fought in local pr ...

on January 15, 2022, at UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Chikadze. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Brahimaj, as a replacement for Jonny Parsons, faced Micheal Gillmore on February 26, 2022, at UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in round one. Brahimaj was scheduled to face Michael Morales on July 30, 2022, at

UFC 277 ''UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 30, 2022, at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Women's Bantamweight Cha ...

. However, Brahimaj was forced out the event in mid July due to an undisclosed injury. Brahimaj was scheduled to face

Carlston Harris Carlston Lindsay Harris (born July 9, 1987) is a Guyanese mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Having left Guyana in 2007 in search of better job prospects, Harris moved ...

on February 18, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 219 ''UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Blanchfield'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 219'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 77'', and ''UFC Vegas 69'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 18, 2023, at ...

. However, Brahimaj was pulled from the event citing neck injury. Brahimaj faced Themba Gorimbo on May 18, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 241. He lost the bout by unanimous decision. Brahimaj faced

Mickey Gall Mickey Gall (born January 22, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Gall was born in Green Brook, New Jersey. He began training in boxin ...

on November 16, 2024 at UFC 309. He won the fight by knockout in the first round. This fight earned him his first '' Performance of the Night'' award. Brahimaj was scheduled to face Oban Elliott on May 31, 2025 at UFC on ESPN 68. However, Elliott had to withdraw due to visa issues and was replaced by Billy Ray Goff. Brahimaj defeated Goff via a guillotine choke submission in the first round. This fight earned him another '' Performance of the Night'' award.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Performance of the Night (Two times)

Mixed martial arts record

, Win , align=center, 12–5 , Billy Ray Goff , Technical Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC on ESPN: Gamrot vs. Klein , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:16 ,

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, 11–5 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC 309 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:55 ,

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–5 , Themba Gorimbo , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Murphy , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Micheal Gillmore , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:02 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Chikadze , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas 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 ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Sasha Palatnikov , Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:33 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:03 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Carlos Martinez , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , LFA 62 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:55 ,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 , Justin Patterson , Decision (unanimous) , LFA 55 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 ,

, Technical Submission (guillotine choke) , LFA 47 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:34 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 , Evan Cutts , Decision (unanimous) , LFA 40 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Bilal Williams , Submission (rear-naked choke) , LFA 33 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:10 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Ben Simons , Submission (guillotine choke) , LFA 28 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:46 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Josh Sturgill , Submission (guillotine choke) , Xtreme Knockout 37 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Andrew Sosa , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Xtreme Knockout 36 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:55 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , David Lopez , Submission (kimura) , Xtreme Knockout 34 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:20 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Richard Bailey , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Genesis Combat Sports 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:17 ,

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...

, United States ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brahimaj, Ramiz 1992 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American people of Kosovan descent 21st-century American sportsmen