Murtaza Talha Ali Record: 6-1-0

BRAVE CF run

Ali was a wrecking ball in BRAVE CF, opening his career with six straight finishes. He debuted by submitting Vadim Litvin with a second-round rear-naked choke at BRAVE CF 45, then stopped Dmitriy Krivulets by first-round ground-and-pound at BRAVE CF 46. He kept the first-round finishes coming, knocking out the 6-1 Cameron Meintjies at BRAVE CF 48 and Bayan Zheenbekov at Octagon 24. In March 2022 he submitted the 7-1 Mikheil Sazhiniani by first-round armbar at BRAVE CF 57, then closed his unbeaten run that September with a first-round rear-naked choke of the experienced Kirill Khomitsky (8-2) at BRAVE CF 62 – pushing his record to 6-0 with every win inside the opening two rounds.

Contender Series test

That perfect, all-finish record earned Ali a spot on Dana White's Contender Series in October 2023 against Rodolfo Bellato, a powerful 10-2 Brazilian. It was the toughest night of his career and the first loss on his ledger: Bellato stopped him by second-round strikes. The defeat snapped his unbeaten run, but it came against a hard-hitting opponent who went on to the UFC, and it was the first time anyone had solved the KHK product.

Fighting style

Ali is a finisher built on a Dagestani wrestling foundation, and the numbers underline it: all six of his professional wins came by stoppage, split evenly between three knockouts and three submissions, for a 100% finish rate – with every one of those wins coming in the first or second round. He blends takedowns and heavy top control with a genuinely dangerous submission game, equally comfortable hunting rear-naked chokes and armbars or finishing with ground-and-pound. The loss to Bellato showed what happens when his pressure is met by an elite striker who can turn the tide, but his combination of pedigree, finishing rate and pace makes him a handful for anyone at 205.

Career highlights

• Two-time IMMAF world champion — dominated the amateur ranks, winning the IMMAF light heavyweight world title in 2017 and 2019.
• Six straight finishes — opened his pro career 6-0 in BRAVE CF, ending every fight inside two rounds, evenly split between knockouts and submissions.
• Contender Series competitor — earned a Dana White's Contender Series spot against future UFC fighter Rodolfo Bellato.