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A video was published on the promotion’s social media pages in which the 31-year-old athlete confirmed that he had signed a contract.
Azat Maksum’s debut will take place on September 19 in Almaty. The name of his future opponent has not yet been announced.
“The contract has been signed. Wait for me at NAIZA 85,” the fighter said.
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Azat Maksum’s UFC career
The Kazakh fighter made his UFC debut at Vegas 77 with a 16-0 record. His path in the world’s strongest league began with a victory over promotion veteran Tyson Nam.
Before the bout, Maksum was the clear favorite, but he delivered a fairly average performance in the fight and claimed victory by split decision.
After that fight, a series of defeats followed. The first “one” on the Kazakh fighter’s record was handed to him by another experienced fighter, American Charles Johnson. Their bout took place at UFC Fight Night 235, held on February 3, 2024, at the UFC Apex arena in Enterprise, Nevada, USA.
In the first round, Maksum dominated in all aspects, but by the second round he began taking more shots, and then wrestling disappeared from his arsenal as well. In the end, the Kazakh fighter himself nearly got caught in a submission and eventually lost by unanimous decision.
He entered his third fight with a 1-1 record. The Kazakh fighter was given well-known Russian fighter Tagir Ulanbekov as his opponent. In this bout, the judges’ decision became truly controversial.
Two of the three judges gave the Dagestani fighter the win with a score of 30:27. Journalists and experts said that such a score did not reflect the real picture of the fight.
Azat Maksum’s last fight in the promotion took place as part of UFC 321, held on the night of October 26 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The Kazakh fighter’s opponent was American fighter Mitch Raposo. The bout was scheduled for three rounds. It ended in a sensational unanimous-decision victory for Raposo, with scores of 30:26, 29:27 and 29:27.
