Muslim Salikhov

Overview

Five of Muslim Salikhov's nine UFC wins came by knockout, and three of those ended in the first round. He is also hard to hurt on the way in, which makes the recent run of losses worth a closer look.

"King of Kung Fu" is a Russian welterweight from the Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov School, 9-6 in the UFC and 22-7-0 as a professional across all promotions. He debuted in November 2017 and has been a steady name on the division's undercards and mid-card slots since.

He comes into his next fight on a two-fight losing streak. The sample behind it is small, but the pattern of how he wins and loses is clear.

UFC Career

His debut was a loss: Alex Garcia submitted him in the second round. He answered with a second-round TKO of Ricky Rainey and a first-round TKO of Nordine Taleb at UFC 242, then took a decision over Laureano Staropoli.

The middle of his run is where he built value. He beat Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos by split decision, then Francisco Trinaldo by unanimous decision. Our model rates Trinaldo as an elite opponent, and it is his lone win at that level.

Li Jingliang stopped him in the second round in July 2022, but he rebounded with a third-round TKO of Andre Fialho. That began his longest win streak, though the fight list shows it was interrupted by a decision loss to Nicolas Dalby and a first-round stoppage against Randy Brown.

He then won three straight: a split decision over Santiago Ponzinibbio, a first-round TKO of Song Kenan, and a 42-second finish of Carlos Leal.

The current slide began with a first-round KO/TKO loss to Uroš Medić in 63 seconds, followed by a unanimous decision loss to Ignacio Bahamondes.

Two losses. Different ways to lose.

Fighting Style

Muslim Salikhov is a defensive striker who is hard to hit and even harder to take down. He lands at about the UFC average in volume and accuracy, but he absorbs fewer strikes than most and defends well. Opponents who want the fight on the mat rarely get it there.

He seldom shoots for takedowns himself, and he almost never hunts for submissions. His offense lives on the feet.

That offense finishes fights. Five of his nine UFC wins ended in a knockout or TKO, none by submission, and three of those came in the first round. The other four wins went to the scorecards.

His losses have a different shape. Three of his six came by KO/TKO, one by submission and two by decision.

Notable Wins

• Francisco Trinaldo — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai (2021)
• Nordine Taleb — KO/TKO, round 1 at 4:26, UFC 242 (2019)
• Song Kenan — KO/TKO, round 1 at 3:49, UFC Fight Night: Yan vs Figueiredo (2024)
• Carlos Leal — KO/TKO, round 1 at 0:42, UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs de Ridder (2025)

Quick Facts

• Division: Welterweight
• UFC record: 9-6 (5 KO/TKO wins, 4 decision wins)
• Professional record (all promotions): 22-7-0
• UFC debut: November 2017
• Stance: Orthodox
• Reach: 70"
• Team: Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov School
• Born: Russia