Zhalgas Zhumagulov (born August 29, 1988), is a Kazakh

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 previously competed in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

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 ( ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Zhumagulov hails from Kazakhstan and sported a 13-3 MMA record before entering the UFC, with notable wins including

Tagir Ulanbekov Tagir Radzhabovich Ulanbekov (; born July 8, 1991) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is also the former Fight Nights Global Flyweight Champion. U ...

Tyson Nam Tyson Ka’eo Nam (born October 6, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. A professional since 2006, Nam has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, World Series of Fightin ...

at Fight Nights Global 86, Shaj Hague, Artur Bagautinov, and others. He won the Fight Nights Global Flyweight Championship defeating fellow future UFC fighter

at Fight Nights Global 88. His last bout before signing with the UFC was in October 2019, where he edged former UFC flyweight title challenger

Ali Bagautinov Ali Shamilevich Bagautinov (; born June 10, 1985) is a Russian former professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Flyweight (MMA), Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Combat Sambo caree ...

via split decision in the Fight Nights Global 95 main event.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Zhumagulov made his promotional debut against

Raulian Paiva Raulian Paiva Frazão (born 17 October 1995) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Paiva was born and raised Santana, Amapá, Brazil where he still trai ...

on July 11, 2020, at

UFC 251 ''UFC 251: Usman vs. Masvidal'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 12, 2020 at the Yas Island#du Arena and Forum, du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was o ...

. At the weigh ins, Paiva weighed in at 129 pounds, 3 pounds over the flyweight non-title limit. He was fined 20% of his purse, which went to Zhumagulov. The bout proceeded at catchweight. He lost the fight via controversial unanimous decision. 16 out of 20 media outlets scored the bout as a win for Zhumagulov. Zhumagulov was scheduled to face

Amir Albazi Amir Yahya Abdulamir Al-Bazi (; born October 27, 1993), known as Amir Albazi, is an Iraqi professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of July 1, 2025, he is #4 ...

at UFC on ESPN: Smith vs. Clark, but Zhumagulov pulled out due to

visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

issues and the bout was rescheduled for UFC 257 on January 24, 2021. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. Zhumagulov faced Jerome Rivera on July 10, 2021, at

UFC 264 ''UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 10, 2021 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. He won the fight via a guillotine choke in round one. Zhumagulov faced

Manel Kape Manuel Pedro Gomes (born November 14, 1993), known as Manel Kape, is an Angolan-born Portuguese professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since ...

on December 4, 2021, at

UFC on ESPN 31 ''UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 31'' and ''UFC Vegas 44'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 4, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Neva ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round one. Zhumagulov faced

Jeff Molina Jeffrey Molina (born July 17, 1997) is an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Flyweight (MMA), Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Molina was born in Lakewood, Ne ...

on June 4, 2022, at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik. He lost the bout via controversial split decision. 12 out of 13 media scores gave it to Zhumagulov. Zhumagulov faced former LFA flyweight champion Charles Johnson UFC Fight Night 215. He lost the fight via split decision. 12 out of 13 media outlets scored the fight in favor of Zhumagulov. Zhumagulov was scheduled to face

Nate Maness Nate Maness (born June 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Maness played basketball throughout high school, aspiring to continue playing in coll ...

on May 6, 2023 at UFC 288, but Nate Maness pulled out of the fight due to injury and was replaced by UFC newcomer Rafael Estevam, who was originally scheduled to face Carlos Candelario on April 22, 2023 at

UFC Fight Night 222 ''UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 222, UFC on ESPN+ 80'' and ''UFC Vegas 71'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 22, 2023, at the UFC A ...

. In turn, the bout was scratched the day before the event due to Estevam having weight management issues. Zhumagulov was scheduled to face Felipe Bunes on June 17, 2023 at UFC on ESPN 47. However due to medical issues, Bunes pulled out of the bout and was replaced by

Joshua Van Joshua Van (born October 10, 2001), is a Burmese and American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the first Burmese fighter to sign with the promotion. As o ...

. He lost the bout via split decision. On July 13, 2023, it was announced that Zhumagulov had completed his contract and was not renewed.

Post-UFC career

Zhumagulov was originally scheduled to fight at Kazakhstan's ''Naiza FC 55'' fight card on December 2, 2023 against Iago Ribeiro. The event was postponed to December 6, 2023 and Zhumagulov faced Masato Nakamura instead. Zhumagulov snapped his four-fight losing streak by winning the bout by TKO due to punches after ground-and-pound. Zhumagulov faced Cleveland McLean at Kazakhstan's ''Naiza FC 57'' fight card on February 24, 2024 and won by unanimous decision. Zhumagulov faced

Aaron Aby Aaron Aby (born 8 February 1990) is a Welsh professional mixed martial artist and former association football, footballer who represented Wales at youth level. Mixed martial arts career Aby had numerous bouts in various MMA promotions before ma ...

on November 9, 2024 at ''Oktagon 63''. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Personal life

Zhumagulov has two wives and six children.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Fight Nights Global AMC Fight Nights (or Fight Nights Global before 2021) is a Russian mixed martial arts organization that previously hosted K-1 and other martial arts events. It is one of the largest promotion companies in the world and features some of the top-ra ...

** Fight Nights Global Flyweight Championship (One time) ***One successful defense *

**Tied ( Jesse Ronson &

Dennis Bermudez Dennis Ross Bermudez (born December 13, 1986) is a retired American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC. Bermudez has been a professi ...

) for most consecutive split decision losses in UFC history (3)

Mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhumagulov, Zhalgas 1988 births Living people Kazakhstani male mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Sportspeople from Aktobe