Last night (Sat., June 27, 2026), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan for UFC Baku. This highlight of Caucasus talent lived up to the hype! From the first bell, there were lots of finishes, building a solid wave of momentum up to the pivotal Lightweight main event between Rafael Fiziev vs. Manuel Torres. It was a step up from the average Apex event, and fight fans who tuned into the mid-morning card enjoyed a quality event.
Let’s take a look back over the best performances and techniques of the evening:
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – JUNE 27: (L-R) Rafael Fiziev of Kazakstan drops Manuel Torres of Mexico with a kick in a lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at National Gymnastics Arena on June 27, 2026 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Rafael Fiziev put on a show for the Azerbaijani crowd and demonstrated growth in his victory over Manuel Torres.
Fiziev’s recent loss to Mauricio Ruffy was disappointing. The Brazilian is a slick kickboxer, but “Ataman” was ultimately beaten at his own game. Though he pressured Ruffy and landed some hard low kicks, Fiziev struggled to open up with his hands. By round two, Ruffy realized he could fire cracking straight punches with little fear of return fire, and he was able to walk Fiziev into fight-ending shots.
Against another long and lethal puncher, Fiziev did not make the same mistake. He began the fight with a ripping body kick and big right hand connection, immediately earning Torres’ respect. He also timed a nice reactive takedown, further slowing down Torres’ barrage. That said, Torres landed better shots at a more measured pace than might have been expected, including a nice southpaw jab that stunned Fiziev at the end of the first. Regardless, Fiziev continued to attack at a good rate throughout the round, doing attritional damage to both legs.
Then, he blasted Torres off his feet with a naked wheel kick to start round two — why not? Given the opportunity, Fiziev did not hesitate to jump on Torres, swarming with nasty punches from close quarters to seal the deal. Rather than respecting Torres’ power too much, it was great to see Fiziev fighting like the ferocious knockout artist he is. Fiziev has huge power and a ton of composure in exchanges, but those traits are most valuable when he’s initiating offense of his own.
Hopefully, Fiziev uses this positive result to build momentum into his next matchup … maybe against somebody like Dan Hooker?
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – JUNE 27: (L-R) Charles Johnson kicks Asu Almabayev of Kazakstan in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at National Gymnastics Arena on June 27, 2026 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Asu Almabayev was incredibly impressive in his one-sided domination of Charles Johnson.
I believe most of us expected a high-level, competitive fight — wrong! Almabayev was on fire from the first bell, ripping hard kicks nearly at will and even stunning Johnson with a left hook in the opening minute. He had very little trouble taking down Johnson, catching his kicks or timing shots along the fence to easily gain top position. The most exciting aspect of the fight was watching Johnson scramble back to his feet using both slick wrestling and jiu-jitsu techniques to keep the scramble alive. Almabayev flowed beautifully in response, either maintaining top position or chaining another takedown to reset the scramble.
By round three, Johnson was behind on the cards and desperate. He tried to shake Almabayev off back mount and left himself vulnerable in the process, allowing Almabayev to hook his leg. There was a moment where Johnson could’ve accepted bottom and avoided the Suloev Stretch submission — he didn’t take it. He kept trying to slide out the back door and wound up submitted as a result.
This was undoubtedly the best showing of Almabayev’s UFC career.
Simultaneously, it was an immensely frustrating performance from “InnerG.” Between rounds two and three, his corner begged him to stop throwing naked kicks. How does Johnson begin the third? About five naked kicks or knee feints, resulting in an effortless takedown that eventually led to the finish. There was an avenue to victory for Johnson that involved lots of aggression and combination punching, but he instead spent most of the fight running around the outside of the Octagon and throwing floppy kicks.
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – JUNE 27: (R-L) Abus Magomedov of Russia elbows Michal Oleksiejczuk of Poland in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at National Gymnastics Arena on June 27, 2026 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Abus Magomedov has quietly won four of his last five fights.
The German athlete did some really impressive work against Michal Oleksiejczuk, managing distance well to remove the sting from his powerful boxing. As the larger man, Magomedov was able to land heavy kicks at distance and keep his feet moving, which meant that Oleksiejczuk was hitting air while pressuring. Just as it looked like Magomedov’s feet might slow, he timed a beautiful counter elbow that floored Oleksiejczuk.
The high-elbow guillotine to seal the victory was gorgeous.
Unfortunately, the question that is Abus Magomedov’s gas tank remains. He’s always dangerous and slick in the first round, but he’s equally known for collapsing in the second. The quick finish was excellent, but does it prove that he’s addressed his flaws and is now going to beat ranked opposition? Not really.
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – JUNE 27: Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev of Russia reacts after a knockout victory against Julius Walker in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at National Gymnastics Arena on June 27, 2026 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
There’s not a lot of up-and-coming talent at Light Heavyweight. Half of the division has jumped ship to Heavyweight, and then there’s a good handful of dinosaurs like the great Jan Blachowicz (a 43-year-old who has endured countless shoulder surgeries) lingering around the Top 15.
25-year-old Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev, now 3-0 in the UFC, is a welcome sight.
There’s nothing to break down from the eight-second fight itself: Yakhyaev countered the very first jab of the fight with a lovely right hand that immediately ended the contest. Winning three UFC fights so quickly is impressive, regardless of the relatively low competition level. There’s no need to fast track the young Russian, but I have high hopes for his future.
On the flip side, Walker — just 26 himself — drops to 1-3 in the UFC. He clearly has physical gifts and good technical ideas, but he was signed to the UFC at only 6-0. Clearly, he needed another year or two on the regional scene to develop his skills further, as he’s not much of an offensive threat yet. Being consistently outgunned is a difficult proposition, particularly in the larger divisions.
More time against a worse class of competition might benefit “Juice Box” in the long run.
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – JUNE 27: (R-L) Nursulton Ruziboev of Uzbekistan secures a rear choke submission against Andrey Pulyaev of Russia in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at National Gymnastics Arena on June 27, 2026 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Matheus Camilo defeats Nazim Sadykhov via first-round knockout (highlights): Well … this collision of former Lightweight training partners didn’t last long! Based on their own experience, Camilo entered as the grappling ace, whereas Sadykhov was supposed to be the better striker. Perhaps that training experience left Sadykhov a little too confident on the feet? He looked very relaxed as he pushed forward, keeping his chin a little high and his guard a little low. Subsequently, Camilo sniped him with a well-timed counter right hand just 90 seconds into the fight, and that’s all she wrote! Knocking out Sadykhov is a quality win regardless of circumstances, but for a 25-year-old BJJ black belt? Maybe “Jaguar” will develop into a real contender down the road.Nursulton Ruziboev defeats Andrey Pulyaev via first-round rear naked choke (highlights): With 34 finishes in 37 victories, Ruziboev is not a man who likes to waste time. He took Pulyaev down almost immediately here, worked to the back quickly, and then spent a minute or two actually locking in the strangle — it all looked easy for the standout from Uzbekistan! After this win, Ruziboev is now 5-0 as a UFC Middleweight with his sole loss coming to Joaquin Buckley in a 170-pound contest. None of his wins have come over great names, but he’s definitely earned a step up in competition.Kaan Ofli defeats Javier Reyes via first-round arm triangle: So … Ofli might actually be pretty good? We don’t expect much of Ultimate Fighter also-rans who lose their first two UFC fights, but the Aussie has really turned it around with three straight wins! “Genghis” fought well despite a range advantage, closing distance into the pocket and landing clubbing blows. Late in the opening round, Ofli stunned Reyes with a right hook, following him to the floor and quickly wrapping up his second UFC submission win.Daniil Donchenko defeats Theodor Berggren via second-round knockout (highlights): Given the short-notice nature of the booking, Berggren did some decent work here, showing glimpses of quality kickboxing against a dangerous opponent. Unfortunately for the debutant, Donchenko is a nasty offensive force. He began to punish Berggren’s habit of backing straight up, chewing up his leads and building combinations. In round two, he clipped Berggren with a clean right high kick that floored the Swede, leaving him vulnerable to a nasty salvo of follow-up punches.Tahir Abdullayev defeats Jefferson Nascimento via third-round knockout (highlights): Though it’s nice that the hometown fighter staged something of a comeback finish late in the fight, this was bad MMA. The first two rounds featured a whole lot of nothing, then Abdullayev came alive in the third with a wild flurry and some takedowns. From top position, he scored a few decent swings … and the referee just ended the fight? We’ve all seen hometown judging, but how about hometown refereeing? Between the sloppy fighting and questionable officiating, the whole bout felt very regional.For complete UFC Baku results and play-by-play, click here.