Kazakhstan’s fastest UFC knockout holder signs new contract

Kazakh MMA fighter Bekzat Almakhan has joined the Georgian mixed martial arts promotion RKENA. The organization’s press service introduced the fighter and addressed its audience.

“Welcome one of Kazakhstan’s best fighters, Bekzat Almakhan, to the RKENA family,” the league’s press service wrote.

As a reminder, the Kazakh fighter previously had a contract with the UFC, widely regarded as the world’s leading MMA promotion. However, in mid-August it became known that Bekzat Almakhan had been removed from the roster.

His four-fight contract expired, and his status on the promotion’s official website was changed to “Temporarily inactive.”

Screenshot: ufc.ru

Bekzat Almakhan’s UFC career

Almakhan joined the UFC with an 11-1 record, including 10 wins by knockout or technical knockout. He faced a major challenge in his very first fight, taking on one of the division’s top rising contenders, Umar Nurmagomedov.

At the time, the Russian fighter was ranked 13th in the UFC bantamweight division.

Almakhan had the better start to the first round. At one point, Bekzat caught Umar with a powerful punch and sent him to the canvas.

However, Nurmagomedov later recovered and imposed his fighting style. He repeatedly took the Kazakh fighter to the ground and built up his advantage there. Almakhan ultimately lost his UFC debut by unanimous decision.

His second fight came more than a year later against Canadian fighter Brad Katona. The bout ended early in the first round. Just 63 seconds after the opening bell, Almakhan landed a clean shot that dropped his opponent before following up with strikes, forcing the referee to stop the fight.

He again faced a tough opponent in his third bout, meeting Aleksandre Topuria, the older brother of then-UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, inside the Octagon.

Almakhan put on a strong performance. He landed frequently and connected with accurate combinations, although the difference in punching power was clearly visible. The fight went the full distance, with the judges awarding Topuria a unanimous-decision victory.

In his most recent fight, Almakhan faced Brazilian Jean Matsumoto. The bout was also competitive, but the Kazakh fighter was unable to convince the judges that he had done enough to win, with Matsumoto taking the victory by unanimous decision.

RKENA is a young Georgian mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2025. Its main goal is to usher in a new era of Georgian and regional MMA. The organization focuses on developing local and international talent, preparing fighters for leading global promotions such as the UFC, PFL and ONE, and staging entertaining events.