Mariya Agapova (born April 7, 1997) is a Kazakhstani

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, incorp ...

. She currently competes in the

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC).

Background

Agapova started training martial arts around the age of eight in order to learn to defend herself. She graduated from college specializing in

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

for kids.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Agapova fought her early MMA career exclusively in Russia, China and Kazakhstan. She amassed an undefeated record of 6–0 prior to debuting on

Dana White's Tuesday Night 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 move ...

Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series

Agapova appeared at Dana White's Contender Series 22 on July 30, 2019, facing

Tracy Cortez Tracy Cortez (born December 10, 1993) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of March 7, 2023, she is #14 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings. Background Of Mexi ...

. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Invicta Fighting Championships

Agapova made her

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is currentl ...

debut on September 6, 2019 against Alexa Conners at Invicta FC: Phoenix Series 2. She won the fight via a submission in round one. Agapova next faced Marilia Santos on October 6, 2019 at Invicta FC 37: Gonzalez vs. Sanchez. She won the fight via technical knockout in round one. This win earned her the ''Performance of the Night'' award. Agapova was scheduled to face Daiana Torquato on February 7, 2020 at Invicta FC 39: Frey vs. Cummins II. However, Agapova collided with a car when she was on her way to train at the ATT and had to withdraw from the bout.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Agapova signed with the UFC in February 2020. She made her debut against

Hannah Cifers Hannah Lucinda Cifers (born June 26, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She formerly fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts career Early career Cifers made he ...

on June 13, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Eye vs. Calvillo. After dropping Cifers with a head kick, Agapova won the bout via first round submission. This win earned her the ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' award. Agapova faced

Shana Dobson Shana or Shanna may refer to: People Shana * Shana Alexander (1925–2005), journalist * Shana Cox (born 1985), athlete * Shana Dale (born 1964), NASA deputy administrator * Shana Hiatt (born 1975), model * Shana Madoff (born 1967), compliance offi ...

on August 22, 2020 at

UFC on ESPN 15 ''UFC on ESPN: Munhoz vs. Edgar'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 15'' and ''UFC Vegas 7'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 22, 2020, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, ...

. She lost the fight via second round TKO, coming on the receiving end of the largest betting odds upset in UFC women's history (tied with

Holly Holm Holly Rene Holm (born October 17, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist, who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She is the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, and a former professional boxer. She was a multiple-time world ...

's upset victory over

Ronda Rousey Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women’s ...

UFC 193 ''UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm'' was a mixed martial arts event held on 14 November 2015, at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the most attended UFC event in the history of the company at the time, with 56,214 people filling th ...

). Agapova faced

Sabina Mazo Sabina Mazo Isaza (born March 25, 1997) is a Colombian mixed martial artist who competed in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is the former flyweight Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) champion. Background Mazo ...

on October 9, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 194 ''UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 194'', ''UFC Vegas 39'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 52'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 9, 2021 at the UFC ...

. She won the fight via rear-naked choke after knocking Mazo down in round three. This fight earned her the ''

''award. Agapova faced

Maryna Moroz Maryna Moroz (Ukrainian: Марина Мороз; born September 8, 1991) is a Ukrainian professional mixed martial artist, signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she competes in the Women's Flyweight division. Moroz is also ...

on March 5, 2022 at

UFC 272 ''UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 5, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. She lost the fight via a submission in round two. Agapova was scheduled to face

Ji Yeon Kim Kim Ji-yeon ( ko, 김지연; born October 18, 1992), often anglicized Ji Yeon Kim, is a South Korean mixed martial artist (MMA). She was the Jewels and Gladiator women's bantamweight champion. She competes in the Women's Flyweight division of ...

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 ...

on July 9, 2022. However, Agapova was forced out of the fight due to knee injury and she was replaced by

Joselyne Edwards Joselyne Edwards Laboriel (born September 29, 1995) is a Panamanian mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Edwards started boxing when she was 13 years old, and after four ...

. Agapova faced

Gillian Robertson Gillian Elizabeth Robertson (born May 17, 1995) is a Canadian mixed martial artist (MMA). She currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Robertson was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Can ...

, replacing

Melissa Gatto Melissa Gatto Regonha (born May 2, 1996) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who currently fights in the women's flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Gatto was born and grew up in Toledo, Paraná, Bra ...

, on September 17, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 210 ''UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 210'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 68'' and ''UFC Vegas 60'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 17, 2022, at the ...

. She lost the fight via rear-naked choke.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

(Two times) *

**Performance of the Night (one time) vs. Marilia Santos

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 ,

, Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:19 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:27 ,

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, TKO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Munhoz vs. Edgar , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:38 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on ESPN: Eye vs. Calvillo , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:42 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Marilia Santos , TKO (elbows) , Invicta FC 37: Gonzalez vs. Sanchez , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:55 ,

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Alexa Conners , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Invicta FC: Phoenix Series 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:03 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Dana White's Contender Series 22 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Na Liang , TKO (punches) , Heroine FC 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the National ...

, China , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Liliya Kazak , Decision (split) , Fight Nights Global 82 , , align=center, 3 , 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 million ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Yulia Kutsenko , Submission (armbar) , Fight Nights Global 72 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:47 ,

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Yulia Litvinceva , TKO (punches) , Brave CF 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:15 ,

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 ...

, Kazakhstan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Dariya Kutuzova , Submission (rear-naked choke) , WFCA 28 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:45 ,

Pavlodar Pavlodar ( ; ) is a city in northeastern Kazakhstan and the capital of Pavlodar Region. It is located 450 km northeast of the national capital Astana and 405 km southeast of the Russian city of Omsk along the Irtysh River. , the cit ...

, Kazakhstan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Yuliya Ivanova , Decision (unanimous) , WFCA 8 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Kazakhstan , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Agapova, Mariya 1997 births Living people People from Pavlodar Kazakhstani people of Russian descent Kazakhstani female mixed martial artists Kazakhstani expatriates in the United States Flyweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters