Tagir Ulanbekov Record: 17-3-0

UFC career

Ulanbekov debuted in the UFC in October 2020 with a unanimous-decision win over Bruno Silva, then edged Allan Nascimento by split decision at UFC 267 in 2021. A unanimous-decision loss to veteran Tim Elliott at UFC 272 in March 2022 was a reminder of the division's depth, but he rebounded emphatically. In November 2022 he submitted Nate Maness with a first-round standing guillotine, then choked out Cody Durden with a second-round rear-naked choke at UFC 296 in December 2023. He kept the momentum going in 2025 with unanimous-decision wins over undefeated prospect Clayton Carpenter at UFC 311 and Azat Maksum. In November 2025 he ran into former Bellator and RIZIN champion Kyoji Horiguchi, who handed him a third-round submission loss.

Fighting style

Ulanbekov is a grappling-first flyweight whose game flows from the elite wrestling and sambo base typical of the Eagles MMA system. Eight of his 17 wins have come by submission and only one by knockout, reflecting a fighter who prefers to drag opponents into deep water, control them on the mat and hunt chokes and joint locks rather than trade strikes. His chain wrestling, top pressure and guillotine entries are his most reliable weapons, and his durability has kept him competitive against the division's best. The flip side is that much of his offense is built on decisions and control time rather than highlight finishes, and quicker, more dynamic strikers can test him on the feet, as several of his closest fights have shown.

Career highlights

• UFC flyweight contender — strung together wins over Nate Maness, Cody Durden and undefeated prospect Clayton Carpenter to push into the division's rankings.
• Eagles MMA pedigree — trained at the same Dagestani camp as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, carrying its grappling-heavy, control-based identity into the flyweight division.
• Submission specialist — eight of his career wins have come by submission, headlined by the first-round standing guillotine that finished Nate Maness in 2022.