Azamat Bekoev

Azamat Bekoev is a Russian middleweight who burst onto the UFC scene in early 2025 as one of the division's most explosive strikers. After building an impressive record through Russian regional promotions and winning the LFA Middleweight Championship in 2023, he made his Octagon debut on short notice against Zachary Reese at UFC 311 in January 2025, delivering a devastating first-round TKO. Four months later, he faced Ryan Loder and produced another early finish, earning a Performance of the Night bonus and the recognition of a legitimate prospect on the rise.

Bekoev's striking is heavy-handed and explosive, with a clear capacity to end fights in a single exchange. His knockout power and early-round aggression made him seem poised for a run up the middleweight rankings. However, the past six months have proven troubling. A technical knockout loss to Yousri Belgaroui in October 2025 was followed by a more damaging result: a third-round guillotine choke submission to significant underdog Tresean Gore in April 2026, a loss Gore called "the biggest win of his career."

Those back-to-back defeats have raised serious questions about Bekoev's cardio, wrestling defense, and composure in deep waters against elite-level competition. While his knockout power remains real and his willingness to take short-notice fights is admirable, he now finds himself needing to reassert himself against the division's middle tier or risk sliding further from prospect status into gatekeeper territory.