Nurmagomedov vs Gafurov

Who won Nurmagomedov vs Gafurov?

Said Nurmagomedov beat Muin Gafurov by submission in the 1st round during the main card of UFC 294, on Saturday 21st October 2023 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Bantamweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 KG).

Nurmagomedov vs Gafurov stats

Said Nurmagomedov stepped into the octagon with a record of 17 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, 4 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 5 by submission.

Muin Gafurov made his way to the cage with a record of 18 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 10 of those wins coming by knock out and 7 by submission.

Said Nurmagomedov's UFC record stood at 8-2-0, while Muin Gafurov's came in at 0-2-0.

The stats suggested Gafurov had a massive power advantage over Nurmagomedov, boasting a 56% knock out percentage over Nurmagomedov's 24%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Gafurov had a slight advantage over Nurmagomedov, with a 39% submission rate over Nurmagomedov's 29%.

Said Nurmagomedov was the older man by 5 years, at 32 years old.

Nurmagomedov had a height advantage of 1 inch over Gafurov. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Nurmagomedov was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 3 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2009, 4 years and 2 months earlier than Gafurov, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 3 more professional rounds, 44 to Gafurov's 41.

Nurmagomedov vs Gafurov form

Muin Gafurov had stopped 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to John Castaneda at UFC Fight Night – Kara-France vs. Albazi on 3rd June 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Diego Silva at LFA 144 on 14th October 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round in their LFA Bantamweight championship fight at Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Herbeth Sousa at LFA 134 on 10th June 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at Bell County Expo Center, Belton.

Before that, he had been beaten by John Lineker at ONE Championship – Dawn of Valor on 25th October 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia.

He had defeated Leandro Issa at ONE Championship – Kingdom of Heroes on 6th October 2018 by knockout in the 1st round at Impact Arena, Bangkok, Thailand.

Activity check

Nurmagomedov's last 4 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 3 months and 5 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 25 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 9 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.3 rounds on average.

Gafurov's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 6 months and 21 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 1 month and 10 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Nurmagomedov vs Gafurov?

Said Nurmagomedov was a 33/100 (-300) favourite going into the contest, while Muin Gafurov made his way into the ring at 12/5 (+240) with oddsmakers.