Muin Gafurov

Overview

Muin Gafurov has been submitted twice in the UFC, and the second one came with one second left in the fight. The Tajikistan-born bantamweight, nicknamed "Tajiik," is 2-3 in the UFC and 20-7-0 across all promotions. He has never finished anyone inside the Octagon, and he has gone the distance in four of his five UFC fights.

His career is a story of decisions. Two of them went his way. Everything else went against him.

UFC Career

Gafurov's route to the UFC ran through Dana White's Contender Series, where he lost a split decision to Chad Anheliger in 2021. That fight is a professional bout, not part of his UFC record. He made his UFC debut in June 2023 and dropped a unanimous decision to John Castaneda. Four months later at UFC 294 he was submitted by Said Nurmagomedov in 1:13 of the first round, an opponent our model rates as strong.

Then came the turnaround. Gafurov beat Kyung Ho Kang by unanimous decision in June 2024, then took another unanimous decision over Rinya Nakamura at UFC 311, another strong opponent by our model. Two wins is his longest UFC streak.

It ended in February 2026. Jakub Wiklacz submitted him in the third round at 4:59, and Gafurov carries that loss into his next fight.

Two wins, two submission losses, and a whole lot of decisions.

Fighting Style

Muin Gafurov is a hard man to hit and a hard man to take down. He takes less damage than most fighters at this level, and his defense against both strikes and takedowns holds up well. His output, accuracy and takedown attempts are about what you'd expect from a typical UFC fighter.

He rarely hunts for submissions, which leaves his ground offense as the thin part of his game. His defense has also been beaten where it matters most: two of his three UFC losses came by submission.

His wins have come on the scorecards. Both of his UFC victories went the distance, and he has no UFC finishes.

Notable Wins

• Rinya Nakamura — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC 311 (2025)
• Kyung Ho Kang — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Aliskerov (2024)

Quick Facts

• Division: Bantamweight
• UFC record: 2-3
• Professional record (all promotions): 20-7-0
• UFC debut: June 2, 2023
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height: 5'7"
• Reach: 68"
• Team: Syndicate MMA
• Born: Dushanbe, Tajikistan