Asu Abaiuly Almabayev ( kk, Асу Абайұлы Алмабаев; born January 25, 1994) is a Kazakh professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2013, Almabayev has also competed in M-1 Global, where he is a former Interim M-1 Global Flyweight Champion. As of July 30, 2024, he is #14 in the UFC flyweight rankings.

Background

Almabayev was born on January 25, 1994, in the village of Janatalap in the

Sarysu District Sarysu ( kk, Сарысу ауданы, ) is a Districts of Kazakhstan, district of Jambyl Region in south-eastern Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the town of Janatas. It Geography The district is named after the Sarysu ...

of the Jambyl Region of Kazakhstan. He was raised by his grandparents until he was ten. At the age of five, he began to train wrestling. When he was in the fifth grade, he and his family moved to

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

, where he attended other combat sport classes such as

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

, boxing, and

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

. While in Almaty, Almabayev worked at a market, where his parents had a small shop. He worked at the market until he was 23. In BJJ, Almabayev became the champion of Kazakhstan and Asia. However, he eventually chose to compete in mixed martial arts after watching it on television while studying in college.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Almabayev made his professional MMA debut against Vadim Buseev on June 1, 2013, at Rod Fighting: Shield and Sword 4. He won the bout via unanimous decision. After a three-year layoff, Almabayev returned in 2016 and won three early victories in the Alash Pride FC, Tech-Krep FC and Fight Nights Global promotions. In 2017, he suffered his first defeat at Fight Nights Global 58, losing to current UFC fighter Tagir Ulanbekov. Two months later, Almabayev returned to the cage at the Alash Pride FC tournament and suffered a second defeat, losing to Mehman Mamedov. From there, he never lost again, bringing his record to 17–2. Almabayev won the next thirteen victories in a row in the ACB, Alash Pride, Fight Nights Global, Naiza, M-1 Global and Brave Combat Federation organizations.

M-1 Global

Almabayev faced

Chris Kelades Chris Kelades (born February 21, 1981), is a Canadian mixed martial artist and former interim M-1 Challenge Flyweight champion. He previously competed in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor ...

on October 19, 2019, at M-1 Challenge 105 for the Interim M-1 Global Flyweight Championship. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Brave Combat Federation

Almabayev made his Brave Combat Federation debut on August 21, 2021, against Aleksander Doskalchuk at Brave CF 53. He won the bout via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round. Almabayev faced Imram Magaramov on March 11, 2022, at Brave CF 57. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Almabayev faced Zach Makovsky on July 30, 2022, at Brave CF 60. He won the bout via split decision. Almabayev faced Kenneth Maningat on November 26, 2022, at Brave CF 66. He won via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Almabayev made his UFC debut against

Ode' Osbourne Ode’ Omaani Osbourne (born January 9, 1992) is a Jamaican mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, Osbourne lived primarily with his grandm ...

on August 5, 2023, at

UFC on ESPN 50 ''UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 50'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 5, 2023 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. B ...

. He won the bout via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round. This fight earned him the Performance of the Night award. Almabayev faced

C.J. Vergara Carlos Vergara (born June 18, 1991) is an American Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Vergara began training under Pete Spratt at his Muay Tha ...

on March 9, 2024, at

UFC 299 ''UFC 299: O'Malley vs. Vera 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 9, 2024, at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, United States. Background The event marked the promotion's t ...

. At the weigh ins, Vergara weighed in at 127 pounds, one pound over the flyweight non-title fight limit, which led the bout to proceed at catchweight with 30 percent of Vergara's purse going to Almabayev. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Almabayev faced Jose Johnson on June 15, 2024, at

UFC on ESPN 58 ''UFC on ESPN: Perez vs. Taira'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 58'' and ''UFC Vegas 93'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 15, 2024, at the UFC Apex facility, in Enterprise, Nev ...

. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Almabayev is scheduled to face Matheus Nicolau on October 19, 2024, at

UFC Fight Night 245 ''UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs. Pereira'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 245'' and ''UFC Vegas 99'') is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on October 19, 2024, at the UFC ...

Championships and accomplishments

* Ultimate Fighting Championship ** Performance of the Night (One time) * M-1 Global ** Interim M-1 Flyweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 20–2 , Jose Johnson , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Perez vs. Taira , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Miami, Florida, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:11 , Nashville, Tennessee, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–2 , Kenneth Maningat , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Brave CF 66 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:30 ,

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 16–2 , Zach Makovsky , Decision (split) , Brave CF 60 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Isa Town Isa Town ( ar, مدينة عيسى, ''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, the ruler of Bahrain from 1961 to 1999 ...

, Bahrain , , - , Win , align=center, 15–2 , Imram Magaramov , Decision (unanimous) , Brave CF 57 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Bahrain , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 , Kayck Alencar , KO (punch) , Naiza FC 36 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:27 ,

, Kazakhstan , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Aleksander Doskalchuk , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Brave CF 53 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:47 ,

, Kazakhstan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Darkhan Skakov , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Naiza FC 27 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:29 ,

, Kazakhstan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , M-1 Challenge 105 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 , Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Pierre Ludet , Submission (guillotine choke) , M-1 Challenge 101 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:45 ,

, Kazakhstan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Kiril Fomenkov , Submission (rear-naked choke) , M-1 Challenge 100 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:51 ,

Atyrau Atyrau ( kk, Атырау, ', ; russian: Атырау, ), known until 1991 as Guryev (russian: Гурьев, ), is a city in Kazakhstan and the capital of Atyrau Region. Atyrau is a transcontinental city, at the mouth of the Ural River on the Cas ...

, Kazakhstan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Saud Karagishov , TKO (punches) ,

Fight Nights Global 88 Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:09 , Astana, Kazakhstan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Shamil Akhmaev , Decision (unanimous) , Berkut Young Eagles 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Tolstoy-Yurt, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Kenan Jafarli , Decision (unanimous) , Alash Pride FC , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Kazakhstan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Ibrahim Mamaev , Submission (Peruvian necktie) , ACB 69: Young Eagles 22 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:07 ,

, Kazakhstan , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–2 , Mehman Mamedov , Decision (unanimous) , Alash Pride FC: Alash Aibary , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Kazakhstan , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Tagir Ulanbekov , TKO (submission to punches) , Fight Nights Global 58 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:51 , Kaspiysk, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Galamirza Ayvazov , Submission (armbar) , Fight Nights Global 45 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:41 , Ufa, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Oleg Erik , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Tech-Krep FC: Southern Front 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:04 , Krasnodar, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Yeldos Kaliev , TKO (punches) , Alash Pride FC: Selection 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:32 ,

Kaskelen Kaskelen (, ''Qaskeleñ'') is a town and seat of Karasay District in Almaty Region of south-eastern Kazakhstan.National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the ...

, Kazakhstan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Vadim Buseev , Decision (unanimous) , R.O.D: Shield and Sword 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Moscow, Russia ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Almabayev, Asu 1994 births Kazakhstani male mixed martial artists Living people Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Flyweight mixed martial artists