Said Nurmagomedov

Overview

Four of Said Nurmagomedov's seven UFC wins ended in the first round. All four of his losses went to the judges.

He fights at bantamweight out of Dagestan, Russia, for Team Nurmagomedov, and his UFC record is 7-4. His professional record across all promotions is 18-5. He is not a champion, and he carries a two-fight losing streak into his next fight.

The pattern is stark. Win early and he usually wins by finish. Let it go the distance and the results get harder to trust.

UFC Career

He debuted in July 2018 against Justin Scoggins and won a split decision. His next fight was a first-round TKO of Ricardo Ramos at 2:28.

Then came a loss. Raoni Barcelos, an opponent our model rates as strong, took a unanimous decision in December 2019.

The middle of his run is where he looked best. He stopped Mark Striegl in 51 seconds, submitted Cody Stamann in 47 seconds at UFC 270, and beat Douglas Silva de Andrade on the cards. He added a second-round submission of Saidyokub Kakhramonov to make it four straight wins, his longest streak in the UFC.

Jonathan Martinez, another strong opponent, ended that run with a unanimous decision in March 2023. Nurmagomedov bounced back with a 1:13 submission of Muin Gafurov at UFC 294.

The current skid started in February 2025, when Vinicius Oliveira, also rated strong, won a unanimous decision. Bryce Mitchell did the same in July 2025.

Four losses, four decisions, no one has finished him. That is the other side of the ledger.

Fighting Style

Said Nurmagomedov is a hard man to hit. He takes far less damage per minute than most UFC fighters and defends strikes better than most. His own output and accuracy are about the UFC average, so he is not winning by volume.

He is also tough to take down and rarely shoots for takedowns himself. That doesn't make him a pure striker, though. He hunts for submissions far more often than most fighters, and three of his seven UFC wins came that way.

His finishing pattern reflects that. Five of his seven wins came by stoppage: two by TKO and three by submission. Four of those finishes came in the first round, and the other was a second-round submission.

His four decision losses fit the numbers. With average output and little offense given up, his fights can come down to close rounds, and four of them have gone against him on the scorecards.

Notable Wins

• Cody Stamann — submission, round 1 (0:47), UFC 270 (2022)
• Saidyokub Kakhramonov — submission, round 2 (3:50), UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland (2022)
• Muin Gafurov — submission, round 1 (1:13), UFC 294 (2023)
• Mark Striegl — KO/TKO, round 1 (0:51), UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs. The Korean Zombie (2020)

Quick Facts

• Division: Bantamweight
• UFC record: 7-4
• Professional record (all promotions): 18-5-0
• UFC debut: 2018
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height / reach: 5'8" / 70"
• Team: Team Nurmagomedov
• Born: Dagestan Republic, Russia