Zubaira Alikhanovich Tukhugov (born January 15, 1991) 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, incorp ...

who fights 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 boxe ...

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). A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Tukhugov made a name for himself, fighting in promotions like

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish owned mixed martial arts promotion, based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under the Cage Warrio ...

, ProFC, Fight Nights (EFN) and others, before joining the UFC in 2014.

Mixed martial arts career

Tukhugov made his professional debut in 2010 beating his three opponents by winning Pankration Atrium Cup 2 eight man, one night tournament. After a 10-3 mixed martial arts records, he would be signed by the Russian promotion, Fight Nights, where he won all of his 3 fights, defeating Romano De Los Reyes, Harun Kina and Vaso Bakocevic. During his time on Fight Nights, Tukhugov did a fight for

, defeating Denys Pidnebesnyi at CWFC 58.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In December 2013, it was announced that Tukhugov had signed a contract with UFC and was scheduled to make his promotional debut against

Thiago Tavares Thiago de Mello Tavares (born November 8, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and politician who most recently competed in the Lightweight division. An 18-fight veteran of the UFC, he has also fought in the Professional Fighters League and ...

on February 15 at UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi. However, Tavares was forced to pull out due to an undisclosed injury, and was replaced by UFC newcomer

Douglas Silva de Andrade Douglas Silva de Andrade (born June 22, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who currently competes in Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Silva de Andrade grew up in Castanhal, ...

. Tukhugov dominated the fight and got a unanimous decision win. Tukhugov later faced Ernest Chavez on October 4, at UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story. He won the fight via technical knockout due to punches in the first round. Tukhugov was expected to face

on June 6, 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 68 ''UFC Fight Night: Boetsch vs. Henderson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 68'') was a mixed martial arts event held on June 6, 2015, at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Background The event was expected to be headlined by a l ...

However, the pairing was scrapped after Tukhugov suffered a rib injury. Tukhugov faced

Phillipe Nover Phillipe J. Nover (born February 3, 1984), is a retired American mixed martial artist. He is best known for making it to the finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir. He is a former Ring of Combat lightweight champion. Early li ...

on December 10, 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 80 ''UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 80'') was a mixed martial arts event held on December 10, 2015, at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was expected to be headline ...

. He won the fight by split decision. Tukhugov next faced

Renato Moicano Renato Alves Carneiro better known as Renato Moicano (born May 21, 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Moicano made a ...

on May 14, 2016 at

UFC 198 ''UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic'' was a mixed martial arts event held on May 14, 2016, at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil. Background The event was initially announced as a ''Fight Night'' event with a middleweight bout between former UFC Ligh ...

. In a controversial series of events, despite Tukhogov suffering a kick to the groin in the first round and again in the second round, referee Eduardo Herdy signaled the competitors to continue. Tukhogov lost the fight via split decision. Tukhugov was expected to face

Tiago Trator Tiago dos Santos e Silva (born April 12, 1987) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career Starting his career in 2009, Trator comp ...

on December 9, 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 102 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 102'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 9, 2016, at Times Union Center in Albany, New York Background This event w ...

. However, on November 14, Tukhugov was pulled from the card after being notified by

USADA The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...

of a potential anti-doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected earlier. In February 2018, it was announced that Tukhugov received a two years USADA suspension and contributed USD ten thousand dollar for the arbitration proceedings in testing positive for

ostarine Enobosarm, also known as ostarine or MK-2866, is an investigational selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) developed by GTx, Inc. for the treatment of conditions such as muscle wasting and osteoporosis, formerly under development by Merc ...

from a sample collected on October 29, 2016. Tukhugov was scheduled to face

Artem Lobov Artem Lobov (russian: Артём Лобов; born August 11, 1986) is a Russian, former professional mixed martial artist and boxer based in Ireland. He previously competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF ...

on October 27, 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 138 ''UFC Fight Night: Volkan vs. Smith'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 138'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on October 27, 2018 at Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. ...

. However, it was reported that Tukhugov was removed from the fight due his role in the UFC 229 post-fight melee. After a three-year lay-off, Tukhugov returned to face

Lerone Murphy Lerone Murphy (born July 22, 1991) is an English mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Murphy, who was born and raised in Old Trafford, went to St Edward's Primary Sch ...

on September 7, 2019 at

UFC 242 ''UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier '' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on September 7, 2019 at The Arena, Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event mark ...

. The back-and-forth fight ended in a split draw with one judge assigning each fighter a 29-28 win and the third seeing it as a 28-28 draw. Tukhugov faced

Kevin Aguilar Kevin Aguilar (born September 7, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA). Aguilar was the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) Featherweight champion and he currently competes in the featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

on February 23, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 168 ''UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 168'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 26'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 23, 2020, at Spark Arena in Auckland ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Tukhugov faced

Hakeem Dawodu Hakeem Tyrone Dawodu (born July 2, 1991) is a Canadian mixed martial artist, currently signed to Ultimate Fighting Championship and fights in the Featherweight division. He previously competed for the World Series of Fighting. Early life Dawodu ...

on September 27, 2020 at

UFC 253 ''UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 27, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event was orig ...

. At the weigh-ins, Tukhugov weighed in at 150 pounds, four pounds over the non-title featherweight fight limit. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and Tukhugov was fined a percentage of his purse, which went to his opponent Dawodu. Tukhugov lost the fight via split decision. Tukhugov was scheduled to face Ricardo Ramos on March 13, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 187 ''UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 187'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 45'' and ''UFC Vegas 21'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 13, 2021 at the UF ...

. A week before the event, Tukhugov pulled out due to undisclosed reasons. Promotion officials elected to remove Ramos from the card entirely. The Ramos bout was rescheduled for October 30, 2021 at

UFC 267 ''UFC 267: Błachowicz vs. Teixeira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 30, 2021, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background This event took plac ...

. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Tukhugov was scheduled to face

Nate Landwehr Nathan Wade Landwehr (born June 7, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional mixed martial artist since 2012, he is also a former M-1 Global Feather ...

on August 6, 2022 at UFC on ESPN 40, However, Tukhugov pulled out of the fight due to alleged

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

issues which restricted his travel. Tukhugov was scheduled to face Lucas Almeida on October 22, 2022 at

UFC 280 ''UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 22, 2022, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background A UFC Lightweight Champions ...

. The bout was canceled just minutes before weigh-ins, due to weight management issues. Tukhugov is scheduled to face

Joel Álvarez Joel Álvarez González (born March 2, 1993) is a Spanish mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Joel was born in Gijón, Spain and spent his childhood in the neighborhoo ...

on February 14, 2023 at

UFC 284 ''UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski'' is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on February 12, 2023, at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Background The event will mark the promoti ...

Controversies

UFC 229 Nurmagomedov-McGregor post-fight incident

UFC 229 ''UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor ''was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that was held on October 6, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United St ...

Khabib Nurmagomedov Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov av, ХIабиб ГӀабдулманапил НурмухӀамадов (born 20 September 1988) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the lightweight division of the Ultima ...

jumped the cage after his victory and charged toward

Conor McGregor Conor Anthony McGregor ( ga, Conchúr Antóin Mac Gréagóir; born 14 July 1988) is an Irish professional mixed martial artist. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight and lightweight double-champion. He is the first ...

's team mate Dillon Danis. Soon after, McGregor and Khabib's cousin

Abubakar Nurmagomedov Abubakar Magomedovich Nurmagomedov (born November 13, 1989) is a Russian mixed martial artist, who is currently competing in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a three-time Combat Sambo World Championship bron ...

attempted to exit the octagon, but a scuffle broke out between them after McGregor hit Abubakar, who then punched him back. Tukhugov jumped the cage and punched McGregor before security pulled him and Asadulla Emiragaev away. On January 29, 2019, the NSAC announced a one-year suspension for Tukhugov, (retroactive to October 6, 2018) and a $25,000 fine. On May 22, 2019, NSAC reduced the suspensions by 35 days which allowed Tukhugov to be eligible to compete again on September 1, 2019.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 20–5–1 , Ricardo Ramos , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

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, Decision (split) ,

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, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 19–4–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:21 ,

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

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, Draw (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–4 ,

, Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 18–3 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 17–3 , Ernest Chavez , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:21 ,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 16–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Jaraguá do Sul Jaraguá do Sul () is a city in the north of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. History The city was founded on July 25, 1876, by engineer and Brazilian Army colonel Emílio Carlos Jourdan and his family. The city was originally named jus ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 , Vaso Bakočević , KO (spinning back kick) , Fight Nights - Battle of Moscow 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:30 ,

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, 14–3 , Denys Pidnebesnyi , Decision (unanimous) , CWFC 58 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 pop ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Kuat Khamitov , Decision (split) , Alash Pride - Great Battle , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, 12–3 , Harun Kina , TKO (punches) , Fight Nights - Battle of Moscow 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:30 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Romano De Los Reyes , Decision (unanimous) , Fight Nights - Battle of Moscow 8 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Anatoliy Pokrovsky , Decision (unanimous) , League S-70: Russian Championship Finals , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:43 ,

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 , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 , Akhmet Aliev , KO (head kick) , League S-70: Russian Championship SF , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:19 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Ivan Lapin , Decision (split) , League S-70: Russian Championship 3rd Round , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Risim Mislimov , Decision (unanimous) , MMA Corona Cup 20 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 , Anton Telepnev , Decision (split) , ProFC 22 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While t ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Murad Abdulaev , TKO (doctor stoppage) , ProFC - Russia Cup Stage 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Taganrog Taganrog ( rus, Таганрог, p=təɡɐnˈrok) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of the Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: History of Taganrog The ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Rasul Shovhalov , Decision (unanimous) , ProFC - Russia Cup Stage 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 ,

Murad Machaev Murad Magomedkhanovich Machaev (russian: Мурад Магомедханович Мачаев; born December 3, 1986 in Dagestan) is a Russian mixed martial artist, who currently fighting in the lightweight division for the Absolute Ch ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fight Nights - Battle of Moscow 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:17 ,

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, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Viktor Finagin , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Pankration Atrium Cup 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tukhugov, Zubaira 1991 births Lightweight mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Living people Russian male mixed martial artists Chechen sportsmen Chechen mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing sambo Mixed martial artists utilizing ARB Sportspeople from Grozny Russian sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters

Mixed martial arts career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Controversies

UFC 229 Nurmagomedov-McGregor post-fight incident

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links