Dundee United reportedly agree a fee for Vicko Sevelj to join Neftci Baku as St Mirren appear poised to sign a Serbian striker on Sunday and Monaco are linked with Rangers' Djeidi Gassama.
Vicko Sevelj missed Dundee United's win over Kilmarnock on Saturday as the 25-year-old utility man was given permission to travel to the Azerbaijani capital for a medical and contract talks after a fee was agreed for his transfer to Neftci Baku. (The Courier)
Anderlecht have reignited their interest in Will Ferry and are in negotiations with Dundee United for the 25-year-old left-back. (Sacha Tavolieri on X)
Venezuela striker Kevin Kelsy is awaiting a UK visa, medical and work permit before the 22-year-old completes his transfer from Portland Timbers to Rangers. (Ekrem Konur on X)
‌Kevin Kelsy will not be phased by the £9m price tag when the "strong, powerful striker" completes his move to Rangers, according to Portland Timbers coach Liam Ridgewell. (Daily Record)

#dundee #striker #year #baku

BVB was placed in Pot 2 during the draw held this Thursday evening in Monaco; the team will face three repeat matchups and has two challenging away trips ahead. BVB will play each of these eight opponents only once—for a total of four home games and four away games.
At SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, BVB will face Inter and Villarreal in their current home jerseys, just as they did last year, as well as Real Betis and AEK Athens. The away trips will take them to London (Arsenal), Birmingham (Aston Villa), northern Norway (Bodø/Glimt), and Baku in Azerbaijan (Sabah FK).
The match dates have not yet been set. UEFA plans to announce them by Saturday at the latest.
Reactions to the draw, background on the format, and details about the opponents will follow later this evening. Tickets for the first home game will be available starting September 1 (12:00) in the online ticket shop. Advance sales will begin first for club members. Boris Rupert

#home #evening #face #four

Wednesday of reunions on the biggest stages and heroic feats on the smallest pitches. There is a club in Baku that still can't quite believe what it has just achieved.
Here are the five most important stories to start the day.
Mourinho takes his place on the Bernabéu bench tonight for the first time since June 1, 2013, when he left Real Madrid to both applause and whistles.
Time heals everything and turns it into legend, so today's reunion between the explosive Portuguese coach and what used to be his home will be an emotional one.
Barça have signed Livakovic for four million without yet knowing whether he will stay or go out on loan.

#time #bernab #june #real

RB Leipzig travel to Regionalliga side Eintracht Trier in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. Martin Demichelis saw his side finish the pre-season with a defeat at his former club FC Bayern Munich last week.
The Argentine's first lineup includes no new signings, as Maxim Esteve is out with thigh problems, while Rocco Reitz only joined pre-season training late. Tidiam Gomis replaces the injured Romulo as Conrad Harder starts on the bench in what could be his last appearance in Leipzig colors.
Trier: Wechsel; Held, Spang ©, Pelzer, Dittrich; Wähling, Kritzer, Rahn, Singer, Gaida; Sausen
Leipzig: Vandevoordt; Baku, Orban, Lukeba, Raum ©; Seiwald; Gruda, Banzuzi; Bakayoko, Gomis, Nusa

#trier

PHILADELPHIA – Myktybek Orolbai is taking it step by step, but he plans to climb the ultimate mountain of the UFC.
Riding a three-fight winning streak, Orolbai (16-2-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is breaking out the English – and it's pretty good – ahead of his UFC 330 bout on Saturday vs. Jeremiah Wells. The bout takes place in Philadelphia, two hours from where Wells (13-4-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) grew up.
Enemy territory? Orolbai is used to it.
"No problem," Orolbai said. "I'm everyday in the gym training two to three times, brother. My second fight was a Brazilian fighter. It was Elves Brener. (Same with) Tofiq Musayev (in) Azerbaijan, Baku. Whatever country, I go. No problem, brother. I like my opponent, country, and fight. I like. I'm ready."
While he doesn't mind traveling, experiencing all of the homecomings has made him want one of his own. The UFC has never been to Kyrgyzstan, but Orolbai hopes to change that. Give him a couple years, he said.

#orolbai #bout

Everton have reportedly tried to pay Tottenham Hotspur £25 million to sign Liverpool target Djed Spence. The Spurs star is likely to leave the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium club this summer, and both the Toffees and Reds want him. Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola want to bring a right-back that can defend to Anfield, while his Everton counterpart David Moyes is desperate for reinforcement in the position. The Toffees have offered £25m for Spence, but Tottenham want at least £35m, and Liverpool are keeping tabs on his situation.
The 25-year-old is open to joining the Reds, but nothing concrete is happening right now as Iraola has other options on his radar. Premier League legends Gary Neville and Ian Wright recently admitted that Spence was England's best defender this summer following his impressive displays at the World Cup. He is not in the plans of Lilywhites manager Roberto De Zerbi from the look of things, but he will not be short of suitors in and outside of the Premier League this summer.
Everton could do with such a right-back, but they must be willing to part with at least £35m. Spurs could demand more from suitors as Spence increased his value with his outstanding World Cup performances. The Toffees also have Celtic's Alistair Johnston and RB Leipzig's Ridle Baku as targets in the position and could be looking to sign a player for around £25m. Liverpool are always ready to splash the cash and will likely pip their city rivals to the Spurs star if it comes down to the money.

#summer

Alex Albon conceded that Williams will endure a tough end to the 2026 Formula 1 campaign with priority now shifting to building a fast car for 2027.
The Grove outfit has failed to kick on from its multi-podium season in 2025 and is ninth in the 2026 championship after 11 rounds with only 11 points and none since Monaco in June.
Hungary last time out was its worst result yet, finishing 17th and 18th with Carlos Sainz and Albon both out in Q1 having been leapfrogged by Audi and Aston Martin, which recently fitted upgrades.
There is hope that the upgrades Williams has planned for Baku in September will improve the situation - with team boss James Vowles previously labelling it "almost an entirely new car - but Albon isn't so optimistic.
"We know the weaknesses of the car, we know the directions," said the 30-year-old. "I think as a team, this year, the work that's being done at the factory, it's the biggest effort I've seen from the team to really fight these genetic DNA problems that this team has.

#know #formula

Competing in the United World Wrestling U17 Freestyle World Championships might be the least of Kooper Deputy's worries.
The 16-year-old from Bedford County was dealing with other issues in the buildup to his first international competition. The travel to Baku, Azerbaijan, where Deputy will wrestle in the 48-kilogram weight class Friday, was a challenge. He was also getting accustomed to different types of food and the time change, which is eight hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time.
"It's a little out of his comfort zone," said Josh Deputy, Kooper's father and head coach of Chestnut Ridge High School and the Orchard Wrestling Club. "It's an obstacle for him.
"He's a regimented kid who likes to do things a certain way."
The weight cut has also been difficult for Kooper. He won a PIAA ****** le at 107 pounds in March, but the sport's 2-pound growth allowance made the limit 109 by that point in the season. The world championships' 48-kilogram weight class equates to 105.8 pounds, making it even more difficult on a rising sophomore who has grown over the past few months.

#weight #Wrestling

Kooper Deputy's quest for gold at the United World Wrestling U17 Freestyle World Championships came to a controversial end in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Friday with a 10-7 loss to India's Aaryan in the quarterfinal round.
The 16-year-old from New Paris trailed the Indian, who competes under a mononym, 10-5 with 25 seconds remaining. The U.S. Open champion worked a half-nelson and an arm bar but couldn't turn Aaryan until just over a second remained in the bout. The Indian turned at that point, and a screenshot from video appears to show Aaryan's shoulders completely flat on the mat with a second remaining on the clock.
Deputy was awarded two points for exposure but not the fall, and a pin cannot be challenged so the decision stood, giving Aaryan a 10-7 victory.
Deputy can still medal in the tournament. He'll need Aaryan to reach the championship match to be pulled into the repechage, which Americans often refer to as the consolation bracket.
Aaryan avenged an Asian championships loss to Amirali Ragheb by throttling the Iranian 10-0 in the opening round, then stunned European champion Huseyn Rzazade of Azerbaijan with a late comeback for a 6-5 victory.

#championships

Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Let’s start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
Conor McGregor versus … Machine Gun Kelly?!? MGK reignites feud, buries ‘F—k Liddell’: I’m just glad we’ve found a winnable matchup for The Mac.
UFC Oklahoma’s Dricus Du Plessis mocks ‘horrible’ Brendan Allen, slams ‘ridiculous’ Strickland-Khamzat rematch: I understand rebooking Strickland vs. Khamzat from a financial sense, but Nassourdine Imavov clearly deserves the next shot from a sporting perspective.
UFC parts ways with Michel Pereira following Shara Bullet loss in Baku: Michel Pereira hasn’t been fun to watch in a while now, but he also got hosed by the ref in his final UFC loss — that’s a rough pill to swallow.

UFC is no longer in the Michel Pereira business.
The Brazilian was competing on a one-fight contract for his Shara Magomedov fight last month in Baku, losing a close decision to “Bullet” after three rounds of foul-laden action. The 32-year-old Brazilian has now dropped four of his last five and stands at 32-15 in his pro career.
MMA Fighting brought word of the roster change on Tuesday.
Pereira started off at welterweight but routinely struggled to maintain his weight, forcing an eventual move up to 185 pounds. “Demolidor” is one of few UFC athletes who can say they were ranked in two different weight classes but ultimately, Pereira was unable to capitalize on his position.
Pereira has seven post-fight performance bonuses in his career with three “Fight of the Night” honors. No telling where “Demolidor” will end up. PFL remains a viable alternative to UFC and the blossoming bare knuckle scene also remains an option.

The New Saints head coach Craig Harrison says there is still all to play for in the Champions League despite their 2-0 first leg defeat to Sabah.
Saints were undone by two second half goals by the champions of Azerbaijan in the away leg of their first qualifying round in Baku.
But Harrison believes his side can overturn that deficit in the second leg at Park Hall next Tuesday.
"We are well and truly in the tie and we look forward to bringing Sabah back to Park Hall," Harrison said.
Welsh clubs ready for Conference League ties

After surprising even himself with third place in sprint qualifying, Verstappen's qualifying session for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix turned into a major disappointment.
For the first time since Baku 2024, Verstappen was beaten by a team-mate in Q3 – back then it was Sergio Perez, this time it was Isack Hadjar, who finished one-and-a-half tenths ahead.
However, Verstappen already felt during qualifying that something was wrong with Red Bull's 2026 power unit, known as the DM01.
Read Also:
F1 British GP: Kimi Antonelli beats Charles Leclerc to pole position

Rafael Fiziev is back on track after a highlight-reel knockout over Manuel Torres in the UFC Baku main event, but is he still in the contender picture or is time for the fan favorite to chase fun fights?
On an all-new edition of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee discusses what’s next for the resurgent Fiziev and his hopes of getting the call for a “BMF” ******* le fight. We also try to figure out what the matchmakers can do with the frequently underwhelming Shara “Bullet” Magomedov, who continues to win while leaving us wanting more. Additionally, future matchups are discussed for main card spoiler Matheus Camilo, Asu Almabayev after a dominant submission win over Charles Johnson, intriguing middleweights Ikram Aliskerov and Abus Magomedov, and more.
Plus, your matchmaking suggestions following the UFC’s return to Azerbaijan.
Listen to the UFC Baku edition of On To the Next One. Audio-only versions of the podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
View Link

Yair Rodriguez is apparently moving up to lightweight.

Rodriguez (20-5) and Belal Muhammad are teammates at Valle Flow Striking in Bensenville, Illinois. Muhammad recently claimed that “El Pantera” is moving up to lightweight from featherweight.

Rafael Fiziev knocked out Manuel Torres via a highlight-reel spinning back kick in front of his home fans at UFC Baku last weekend. Muhammad subsequently suggested a matchup between Fiziev and Rodriguez. When a fan noted that Rodriguez is a featherweight, Muhammad Said that the Mexican is moving up to lightweight. Muhammad also revealed that Rodriguez underwent surgery on his wrist after his last win over Patricio Freire.
Fizev and Yair would be fire— Belal Muhammad (bullyb170) June 27, 2026
’
Rodriguez has had an illustrious career at featherweight, only losing to top talents like Frankie Edgar, Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. Rodriguez won the interim featherweight ****** le against Josh Emmett in 2023 but came up short in the bid for the undisputed ****** le against Volkanovski.
Nah Yair is moving up— Belal Muhammad (bullyb170) June 27, 2026

Check out this week's "Spinning Back Clique," MMA Junkie's weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
This week's panel of Brian "Goze" Garcia, Mike Bohn and Danny Segura will join host "Gorgeous" George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:
The UFC's second trip to Baku, Azerbaijan is in the books. In the main event, Azerbaijan's own Rafael Fiziev gave the locals a show with his spinning wheel kick that got him a vicious TKO win over Manuel Torres. It was a big win for Fiziev that put him back on the win column. We react to Fiziev's big win, plus other key results from the card including Shara Magomedov's win over Michel Pereira, Asu Alambayev's crazy submission over Charles Johnson, and more.
UFC wasn't the only show that sw the hometown fighter get their hand raised in the main event. Over ar PFL San Diego, A.J. McKee defeated Salamat Isbulaev in a dominant unanimous decision. Where does McKee go from here? We recap the win from "Mercenary," along with other results from the card.
We go over the biggest news and headlines of this past week. This includes retired UFC fighter Dustin Poirier's airport arrest for intoxication; Michael Morales serving as the backup for UFC 330, Cris Cyborg's retirement bout at PFL Tampa, and much more.

It’s Mailbag time again!
I’m loving this feature and you all keep coming through with very fun questions to ponder. Here’s last week’s responses, by the way, which included a though experiment about who we should send back in time to fight in UFC 1.
I’m looking for new questions today, though.
We’re coming off UFC Baku, so questions about that will have the priority. This is an off week, though, so hit us with some evergreen and off-topic questions, too.
Put your questions in the comments below. I’ll log them all and then spend the week pestering my co-workers to answer them. It’s fun, they love it.

There's a matchup out there that has caught the eye of UFC middleweight standout Shara Magomedov.
Magomedov (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who picked up a decision win over Michel Pereira on Saturday in the UFC Fight Night 280 co-main event in Baku, Azerbaijan, wouldn't mind throwing down with former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
During the UFC Baku post-fight news conference, reporters suggested the matchup between "Stylebender" and "Bullet." Magomedov likes the idea of the fight and would welcome it next. However, he won't campaign against Abus Magomedov, his teamate who also called for a fight with Adesanya after his own win at UFC Fight Night 280.
"Israel Adesanya is a great matchup," Magomedov said at the UFC Fight Night 280 post-fight press conference. "He's fast. He's got a good size. He's tall. He's very interesting. He's not that old, still. I think it would be an exciting matchup, and I think he would be a great, exciting matchup for me, to be honest. But if I need to let my brother Abus take that matchup, then that's what I'll do. Abus is awesome. We trained for this camp. We did the whole camp together."
Magomedov has won two straight fights since suffering his first defeat in the UFC, which came in early 2025 against Michael Page. Magomedov said he's game to get a step up in competition and face ranked opposition.

Shara Magomedov has become a big international star for the UFC, but he’ll never fight in the United States because he’s blind in one eye.
That’s a bit of a problem for “Bullet,” because current middleweight champion Sean Strickland has repeatedly said he has no interest in fighting anywhere other than America. According to “Tarzan,” fighting twice in Australia, twice in Brazil, and twice in Canada during his UFC career was enough business travel for him. If someone wants to fight him or compete for the 185 pound strap while he holds it, it’ll have to be in America.
“He’s like a domestic champion. Just a home boy who acts like a big hero in his gym,” Magomedov told Red Corner MMA. “For example, if they invited him to Azerbaijan he wouldn’t come, because he’s scared. He won’t leave America. And if we had to fight, he would say, ‘Come to America,’ because he knows I can’t go there now. So he’s just a domestic champion.”
“If he ever comes to Abu Dhabi, he will ask for five security guards. Bust most likely he won’t even go there. Like many other’s he’d be like, ‘I’m an American, so I will only fight here.'”
“Bullet” is 6-1 in the UFC but still not in the official top 15 rankings. Neither was his UFC Baku opponent, Michel Pereira, so there’s a good chance Magomedov will remain unranked, and thus further away from a ***** le fight for more reasons than Strickland’s refusal to travel.

The UFC's second event in Baku, Azerbaijan delivered in a big way with nine of 13 bouts Saturday at UFC Fight Night 280 ending inside the distance.
Arguable the most impressive finish of all went to headliner Rafael Fiziev (14-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC), who largely styled on Manuel Torres (17-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) en route to a second-round TKO that put him back into relevance in the lightweight division.
For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie's UFC Fight Night 280 post-event facts.
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $162,000.
Debuting fighters went 2-2 at the event.

Alex Pereira isn’t letting go of his vendetta towards referee Herb Dean.
The former light heavyweight and middleweight champion went on the offensive in the days after his loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC White House, blaming Dean for failing to recognize that he was eating several strikes to the back of the head during his fight. Pereira was ultimately stopped following a barrage of shots on the feet, but the multitude of punches and elbows he absorbed on the ground left him in a severely compromised state.
Pereira blasted Dean for not only ignoring what he deemed as illegal blows but the referee failed to admonish Gane or pause the action for the fouls. Now, Pereira is taking aim at the veteran referee again following a controversial performance at UFC Baku on Saturday.
“Herb Dean … coward,” Pereira wrote on Instagram along with an image from the fight between Shara “Bullet” Magomedov and Michel Pereira.
In the fight, Dean warned Magomedov on two separate occasions for pulling Pereira’s hair during exchanges on the ground. In between rounds, Dean went to Magomedov’s corner and explained yet again that his illegal moves wouldn’t be tolerated and one more foul would result in points taken.

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - JUNE 27: (L-R) Rafael Fiziev of Kazakstan drops Manuel Torres of Mexico with a kick in a lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at National Gymnastics Arena on June 27, 2026 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
The night in Baku was packed with explosive finishes and definitive performances. In total, there were nine finishes (many highlight-reel worthy), four submissions (one super rare and another just plain spooky), and one massively charged crowd. Let's talk MMA.
Main event: Rafael Fiziev def. Manuel Torres via KO (wheel kick and punches), Round 2, 0:15
Co-main event: Shara Magomedov def. Michel Pereira via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Nine of 13 bouts ended inside the distance (five KO/TKO, four submissions)

Following the UFC Baku fights at at National Gymnastics Arena in Azerbaijan, the winners answered questions from the media during the post-fight press conference. The event was headlined by a lightweight bout between No. 11 rankedRafael Fiziev and No. 15 ranked Manuel Torres.

This is the live blog for Rafael Fiziev vs. Manuel Torres, the lightweight main event for Saturday’s UFC Baku card at National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Fiziev is hanging on to a top 15 spot at 155 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, while Torres looks to establish himself among the elite of one of MMA’s deepest divisions.
Azerbaijan’s Fiziev (13-5) is mired in the worst stretch of his career, having suffered a knockout loss to Mauricio Ruffy this past February at UFC 325 that sent him to his fourth loss in five fights. Prior to this slump, Fiziev had won six straight fights and was well on his way to a ******* le shot before dropping fights to Justin Gaethje, Ruffy, and Gamrot, the latter via a knee injury that took him out of action for a year and a half.
Torres (17-3) is trending in the opposite direction, coming off of consecutive first-round knockouts of Grant Dawson and Drew Dober. Since being signed off of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021, Torres has won five of his six UFC fights.
Check out the Rafael Fiziev vs. Manuel Torres live blog below.

This is the live blog for Shara “Bullet” Magomedov vs. Michel Pereira, the middleweight co-main event for Saturday’s UFC Baku card at National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Bullet (16-1) recently rebounded from his first loss with a decision win over Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC Abu Dhabi, but it’s been almost a year since the Russian striking specialist has stepped into the octagon. He seeks his sixth UFC win in seven outings for the promotion with the chance to lock a number in next to his name under the revised AI-driven UFC rankings.
His opponent, Pereira (32-14, 2 NC) is also aiming to put together his first win streak since 2024. The near-50-fight veteran suffered through a rough three-fight losing stretch, including two knockout losses, before earning a split decision win over Zachary Reese this past February to stop his skid. “Demolidor” heads into Saturday’s contest as a major underdog, but his unpredictable style has tripped up challenging opponents in the past.
The fighters had to be pulled apart after a physical faceoff Friday and now get to settle their beef in the cage.
Check out the Shara Bullet vs. Michel Pereira live blog below.

Abus Magomedov was at his best at UFC Baku and now he wants to fight one of the best to ever compete in his division.
The Russian-German middleweight made short work of Michal Oleksiejczuk, cracking him with a hard elbow and then finishing with a guillotine choke that left Oleksiejczuk snoozing.
Watch the nasty finish below.
After, Magomedov used his post-fight mic time to call for a bout with two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
"I want to fight against Israel Adesanya," Magomedov said. "Now we are almost on same level and I hope I'm going to get the fight after this performance."

MMA Fighting has UFC Baku results for the Fiziev vs. Torres fight, a live blog for the top two fights, and more from National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday afternoon.
In the main event, Rafael Fiziev clashes with Manuel Torres in a lightweight contest. Fiziev has lost four of his past five fights, while Torres has won five of his six UFC fights.
Shara Magomedov and Michel Pereira square off in a middleweight contest in the co-main event.
Check out UFC Baku results below.
Main Card (LIVE NOW)

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is live TODAY (Sat., June 27, 2026)with UFC Baku, streaming live online via Paramount+. The event happens inside Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan.
UFC is back out on the road this week for its second trip to the Azerbaijan capital of Baku (and its second juicy site fee from that small nation). The fight card is tailored specifically for their patrons, as you'd expect.
UFC Baku's main event is Rafael Fiziev vs. Manuel Torres. Fiziev was born in Kazakhstan, moved to Kyrgyzstan and now trains in Thailand (and Florida). Though, he proudly carries the flag of Azerbaijan and is much beloved in Baku. Torres, meanwhile, travels to Eurasia from Mexico, looking to add Fiziev's name to his impressive list of first round knockout victims.
The co-main is a funky match-up between Michel Pereira vs. Shara Magomedov. These two have lots of highlights to their names. They also have a few head-scratching moments, too. Both are coming off wins here, but both also need to do a lot more to become factors in the Middleweight division.
Rounding out the main card is ***** m Sadykhov vs. Matheus Camilo, Asu Almabayev vs. Charles Johnson, Brunno Ferreira vs. Ikram Aliskerov and Abus Magomedov vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk.

Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev scored one of the quickest finishes in recent UFC history on Saturday against Julius Walker at UFC Fight Night 280.
Yakhyaev (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) kept his undefeated record in tact in a mere eight seconds when he rocked Walker (7-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) with his first punch the landed a few more for good measure to seal the deal at National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan.
It was the second-fastest finish in the illustrious history of the UFC light heavyweight division, and adds to the hype around Yakhyaev as he strives to become a true contender in the division.
Check out the full fight replay below (via X):
Yakhyaev was elated with his performance, but said he wanted to do it quicker. It was the seventh fastest finish overall in UFC history, and Yakhyaev said there's much more to come.

Nursulton Ruziboev made a big return to the Octagon earlier today earlier today (Sat., June 27, 2026) at UFC Baku LIVE on Paramount+ from inside National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan, as the middleweight fighter put a violent stop to Andrey Pulyaev with a first-round submission (rear-naked choke).
Ruziboev, who was making his first Octagon appearance since May 2025, came into Saturday's "Prelims" tilt a betting favorite. Despite the long layoff, Ruziboev entered UFC Baku with a 4-1 UFC record with three finishes. He was the one who was expected to push the pace and force Pulyaev into uncomfortable positions.
Unfortunately for Pulyaev, he was on the defensive from the opening bell. After a brief standup period, Ruziboev changed levels and scored a slick takedown to gain back control. Pulyaev isn't known for his grappling skills and it showed. Ruziboev was able to act quickly and eventually locked up a rear-naked choke. Pulyaev refused to tap so Ruziboev gladly put him to sleep. It was pretty nasty.
Check out the video highlights below:
Ruziboev, 32, is now 5-1 as a member of the UFC roster. His only Octagon loss came at the hands of Joaquin Buckley back in 2024. That's not too shabby. "Black" should have another chance to capture one more win before the end of the year and then from there it's an attack on the middleweight top 15