Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov (born January 16, 1989) is a Russian

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 ...

who competes in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight ...

division of the

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 ...

(ACA), where he is the current ACA Lightweight Champion. Abdulvakhabov has reached #15 in World Lightweight rankings according to

Fight Matrix Fight Matrix , MMA Rankings, Records, Statistics is an independent, comprehensive, mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter ranking system portal. It is one of the sport's most recognized ranking websites. According to FightMatrix: "The rankings on thi ...

Background

The fighter was born in the village of

Sernovodsky Sernovodsky (russian: Серново́дский; masculine), Sernovodskaya (; feminine), or Sernovodskoye (; neuter) is the name of several rural localities in Russia: * Sernovodskoye, Chechen Republic, a '' selo'' in Sunzhensky District of the C ...

, the administrative center of the Sernovodsky district, located in the west of the Chechen Republic. From the age of 6–7 years, he began to get involved in sports. As a child, little Aziz was fond of football - like the rest of the rural boys, he played the ball with pleasure. The desire to become a wrestler appeared in Abdulvakhabov in his teens. An older brother played a big role in this, who taught the younger ones to play sports and box. At that time, hostilities were taking place in Chechnya, therefore, despite the desire of Abdul-Aziz to engage in wrestling, he did not have the opportunity for this. Abdul-Aziz decided to get an education in Moscow, where he moved at the age of 17. Abdulvakhabov entered the Faculty of Law and combined his studies with training in freestyle wrestling. A year later, Abdul-Aziz, following the advice of his brother, began to engage in hand-to-hand combat. A month later, the coach put the young athlete to the championship of the Moscow region, where the Chechen won. After spending 2 years on the mats, the fighter met Akhmed Musaev, from whom he received and accepted an offer to start practicing hand-to-hand combat and combat sambo.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

A year and a half after the start of training with a new coach, Abdul-Aziz began his journey in mixed martial arts with a one-day tournament from the ProFC organization, where he beat Salim Kaslukov, but in the second fight he was defeated by unanimous decision from Magomed Alkhasov, who was more experienced at that time. Upon his return to canvas, he began to actively close this defeat and, under the sign of various promotions, winning 3 victories in 2 months, after which he took a break for a year and a half. After 2 more victories, and then completely signed up for the ACB organization.

Absolute Championship Akhmat

April 6, 2014 was a special date for Abdulaziz. On this day, his first fight took place in the ACB promotion (since 2018 - ACA). The fighter refused to participate in the first round, as he was seriously injured the day before. But Abdulvakhabov was still destined to get there: a fighter dropped out of the second round of the tournament, and Aziz had recovered his health by that time and came on as a substitute. The rival was Islam Makoev at ACB 5, who did not have a single defeat on his account. The fight was difficult for both athletes, but the judges unanimously gave the victory to Aziz, who advanced to the semifinals. In the semi-finals at ACB 7, he would go on to defeat Rasul Ediev in the second round, submitting him with a guillotine. During this time, it became clear that the fighter's injury was severe and required surgery. Despite this, the athlete continued to participate in the competition. In the final duel Abdulvakhabov met with an experienced fighter

Ali Bagov Ali Bagov (born February 12, 1990) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions of the Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA). Fight Matrix had him ranked a top 10 lightweight in the world in August 202 ...

at ACB 9. In the third round, Aziz knocked out Bagov with a spinning back kick and received the ACB Lightweight Championship. After that, Abdul-Aziz took a break for a year to improve his health and rehabilitate. The return of the athlete was bright - a victory over Vadim Rasul at ACB 17. The next to fall were Zulfikar Usmanov at ACB 22 and Julio Cesar De Almeida at ACB 27. These fights were not title fights, so Aziz still had the belt. The first defense of the champion title in the lightweight category took place in Moscow at ACB 32. The rival of the Chechen was Eduard Vartanyan, who he defeated via TKO stoppage in the first round. In 2016, within the framework of ACB 48, Abdul-Aziz rematched

. From the first minutes of the fight, Ali was in the lead, but he did not go to the second round for health reasons. During this fight, Aziz's old injury also made itself felt. The fighter's knee was operated on, and for a long time he was in rehabilitation. A year later, the main event of ACB 77 was the fight between Abdulvakhabov and Eduard Vartanyan. For the first time in Aziz's career, an exhausting duel lasted all the prescribed five rounds. The victory was awarded to the defending champion, and he retained the title. In 2018, the third meeting of Abdul-Aziz and

took place as part of the ACB 89 competition. In the title fight, the champion lost to his opponent in a close bout via majority decision, and the belt went to Bagov. The following year, Abdul-Azis was booked to face

Marcin Held Marcin Held (born January 18, 1992) is a Polish mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. He formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Absolute Championship Berkut, Professional Fighters League, a ...

at ACA 92, but he was replaced by Brian Foster, who was submitted via arm-trainle choke in the first round, and then Imanali Gamzatkhanov at ACA 99, who followed in the footsteps of the American, being submitted via rear-naked choke in the second round. In 2020, Abdulvakhabov got a chance to reclaim the title against Alexander Sarnavsky at the ACA 111, which the Chechen won via unanimous decision to win the bout and regain the belt. Abdulvakhabov defended his title against former UFC veteran

Hacran Dias Hacran Dias (born 16 May 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is ranked #5 in the ACA lightweight rankings. In 2015, Dias was the #9 featherweig ...

on November 5, 2021, at ACA 131: Abdulvakhabov vs. Dias. He won the close bout via split decision. An ACA Lightweight Championship unification bout between Abdulvakhabov and interim champion Mukhamed Kokov at ACA 162. However, for health reasons the bout was postponed to ACA 164 on October 4. The bout against Kokov was rescheduled for ACA 164: Abdulvakhabov vs. Kokov on October 4, 2023 as part of the 2023 ACA Lightweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal. Abdulvakhabov unified the title and advanced to the semi-finals, stopping Kokov in the second round after dropping Kokov with an elbow against the fence and then winning by ground and pound TKO.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** ACA Lightweight Championship (Two Times, current) *** Five successful title defenses (overall) **** Three successful title defenses (first reign) **** Two successful title defenses (second reign)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 20–2 , Mukhamed Kokov , TKO (punches) , ACA 164: Abdulvakhabov vs. Kokov , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:55 ,

Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a po ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 19–2 ,

, Decision (split) , ACA 131: Abdulvakhabov vs. Dias , , align=center, 5 , 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 millio ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 18–2 ,

Alexander Sarnavskiy Alexander Sarnavskiy (russian: Александр Сарнавский, born January 17, 1989) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Sarnavskiy has mostly competed i ...

, Decision (unanimous) , ACA 111: Sarnavsky vs. Abdulvakhabov , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 17–2 , Imanali Gamzatkhanov , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ACA 99: Bagov vs. Khaliev , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:21 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 16–2 , Brian Foster , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , ACA 92: Yagshimuradov vs. Celiński , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:36 ,

Warszawa Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–2 ,

, Decision (majority) , ACB 89: Abdulvakhabov vs. Bagov 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southe ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 15–1 , Eduard Vartanyan , Decision (split) , ACB 77: Abdulvakhabov vs. Vartanyan 2 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 14–1 ,

, TKO (retirement) , ACB 48: Revenge , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 , Eduard Vartanyan , TKO (punches) , ACB 32: The Battle of Lions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:53 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Julio Cesar de Almeida , KO (punch) , ACB 27: Tajikistan , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:57 ,

Dushanbe Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (ru ...

, Tajikistan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Zulfikar Usmanov , TKO (doctor stoppage) , ACB 22: Grand Prix 2015 Finals Stage 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:47 ,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Vadim Russul , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ACB 17: Grand Prix Berkut 2015 Stage 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:59 ,

Tolstoy-Yurt Tolstoy-Yurt (russian: Толстой-Юрт, ce, Девкар-Эвла, ''Devkar-Evla'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Groznensky District, the Chechen Republic, Russia. Population: The town is named after ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 ,

, KO (spinning back kick) , ACB 9: Grand Prix Berkut 2014 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:36 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Rasul Ediev , Submission (guillotine choke) , ACB 7: Grand Prix Berkut 2014 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:45 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Islam Makoev , Decision (unanimous) , ACB 5: Grand Prix Berkut 2014 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Aktilek Zhumabek , Decision (unanimous) , Alash Pride: Great Battle 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Almaty, Kazakhstan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Garik Aivazyan , Submission (anaconda choke) , Fight Nights Global 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:24 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Sergei Bal , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Deadly Bet 2012 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:20 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Andrey Markovich , Decision (unanimous) , S-70: Russian Grand Prix 2011 (Stage 3) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Ilya Gomelyuk , TKO (punches) , Corona Cup 22 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, N/A ,

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Magomed Alkhasov , Decision (unanimous) , rowspan=2, ProFC 33: Global Grand Prix (Stage 2) , rowspan=2, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , rowspan=2,

Derbent Derbent (russian: Дербе́нт; lez, Кьвевар, Цал; az, Дәрбәнд, italic=no, Dərbənd; av, Дербенд; fa, دربند), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It i ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Salim Kaskulov , TKO (punches) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:24 ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdulvakhabov, Abdul-Aziz 1989 births Living people Russian male mixed martial artists Chechen mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing ARB Mixed martial artists utilizing sambo Russian sambo practitioners