Marat Gafurov (Russian: Марат Гафуров; born November 21, 1984) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist, who competes in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions of Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA).. A professional MMA competitor for 12 years, Gafurov competed for the M-1 Global and ONE Championship, where he was the former M-1 Global Featherweight Champion and ONE Featherweight World Champion.

Marat Gafurov
Born (1984-11-21) 21 November 1984 (age 39)
Buynaksky, Dagestan ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
(now Buynaksky, Dagestan, Russia)
Native nameМарат Гафуров
Other namesCobra
NationalityRussian
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
DivisionFeatherweight (2010, 2012–2017)
Lightweight (2010–2012, 2018–2020)[a]
Welterweight (2020–present)[b]
Reach69 in (175 cm)[1]
Fighting out ofMakhachkala, Russia
TeamTop Team Makhachkala
AKA Thailand
RankBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu[1]
Years active2010–Present
Mixed martial arts record
Total24
Wins20
By knockout2
By submission13
By decision5
Losses4
By knockout2
By submission1
By decision1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Mixed martial arts career edit

Early career edit

Gafurov made his debut at Krasnodar Challenger Cup - Mix Fight 3 on June 4, 2010, against Shamil Gadzhiev.[2] he won a fight by Submission in first round.

M-1 Global edit

Gafurov faced Vugar Bakhshiev for the inaugural M-1 Global Featherweight Championship at M-1 Challenge 35 on November 15, 2012, in Saint Petersburg, Russia.[3] He won by a first round Submission.[4]

ONE Championship edit

Gafurov made his ONE debut against Rob Lisita in the main event of ONE FC: Roar of the Tigers on October 17, 2014. He won by first-round submission.[5][6]

Gafurov faced Ev Ting at ONE: Warrior's Quest on May 22, 2015. He defeated Ting via first-round submission.[7]

ONE Featherweight World Champion edit

Gafurov received his first title shot when he faced Martin Nguyen for the interim ONE Featherweight World Championship at ONE: Odyssey of Champions on September 27, 2015.[8] Gafurov would set the record for fastest submission in ONE Championship history at 41 seconds and won the interim title.[9]

Gafurov would face Jadamba Narantungalag in a title unification bout at ONE: Dynasty of Champions (Beijing II) on November 21, 2015. Gafurov won by fourth-round submission via rear-naked choke to become the undisputed ONE Featherweight World Champion.[10]

Gafurov made his first title defense against Kazunori Yokota at ONE: Kingdom of Champions on March 27, 2016. He won by second-round submission via rear-naked choke to retain the ONE Featherweight World Championship.[11]

Gafurov rematched Jadamba Narantungalag in his second title defense at ONE: Defending Honor on November 11, 2016. He defeated Narantungalag by first-round technical submission via rear-naked choke to retain the title.[12]

Gafurov made his third title defense in a rematch against Martin Nguyen at ONE: Quest for Greatness on August 18, 2017. He lost the title by second-round technical knockout and suffered his first professional loss in MMA competition.[13]

Post-title reign edit

After losing the ONE Featherweight title, Marat Gafurov faced Emilio Urrutia at ONE: Heroes of Honor on April 20, 2018. He defeated Urrutia by first-round technical submission via arm-triangle choke.[14]

Gafurov suffered his second professional loss when he lost to Koyomi Matsushima by first-round technical knockout at ONE: Conquest of Heroes on September 22, 2018.[15]

Marat Gafurov defeated Tetsuya Yamada by unanimous decision at ONE: For Honor on May 3, 2019.[16]

Lightweight (170 lb) debut edit

Marat Gafurov made his Lightweight (170 lbs) debut against Iuri Lapicus at ONE: Warrior's Code on February 7, 2020, where he lost by first-round submission via rear-naked choke.[17]

Gafurov defeated Lowen Tynanes by split decision at ONE: Collision Course on December 18, 2020.[18]

Marat Gafurov lost to Ok Rae-Yoon by unanimous decision at ONE on TNT 3 on April 21, 2021.[19]

On July 22, 2022, Marat Gafurov defeated Ariel Sexton by third-round technical knockout at ONE 159.[20]

Absolute Championship Akhmat edit

On January 9, 2024 it was announced that Gafurov has signed a deal with Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA).

Gafurov made his ACA debut against Gábor Boráros at ACA 172 on March 9, 2024, where he won by first-round submission via armbar.[21]

Professional grappling career edit

Gafurov will be representing Dagestan Combat Club in the 83kg division at the AIGA Champions League qualifying round in Turkey on March 2-5, 2024.[22]

Championship and accomplishments edit

Mixed martial arts record edit

Professional record breakdown
24 matches 20 wins 4 losses
By knockout 2 2
By submission 13 1
By decision 5 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 20–4 Gábor Boráros Submission (armbar) ACA 172 March 9, 2024 1 2:55 Moscow, Russia
Win 19–4 Ariel Sexton TKO (punches) ONE 159 July 22, 2022 3 4:15 Kallang, Singapore
Loss 18–4 Ok Rae-yoon Decision (unanimous) ONE on TNT 3 April 21, 2021 3 5:00 Kallang, Singapore
Win 18–3 Lowen Tynanes Decision (split) ONE: Collision Course December 18, 2020 3 5:00 Kallang, Singapore
Loss 17–3 Iuri Lapicus Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE: Warrior's Code February 7, 2020 1 1:07 Jakarta, Indonesia Welterweight debut.
Win 17–2 Tetsuya Yamada Decision (unanimous) ONE: For Honor May 3, 2019 3 5:00 Jakarta, Indonesia
Loss 16–2 Koyomi Matsushima TKO (punches) ONE: Conquest of Heroes July 22, 2018 1 2:41 Jakarta, Indonesia
Win 16–1 Emilio Urrutia Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke) ONE: Heroes of Honor April 20, 2018 1 2:34 Pasay, Philippines Return to Lightweight.
Loss 15–1 Martin Nguyen KO (punch) ONE: Quest for Greatness August 18, 2017 2 1:27 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Lost the ONE Featherweight Championship.
Win 15–0 Jadamba Narantungalag Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE: Defending Honor November 11, 2016 1 4:51 Kallang, Singapore Defended the ONE Featherweight Championship.
Win 14–0 Kazunori Yokota Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE: Kingdom of Champions May 27, 2016 2 4:25 Bangkok, Thailand Defended the ONE Featherweight Championship.
Win 13–0 Jadamba Narantungalag Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE: Dynasty of Champions (Beijing II) November 21, 2015 4 4:39 Beijing, China Won the ONE Featherweight Championship.
Win 12–0 Martin Nguyen Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE: Odyssey of Champions September 27, 2015 1 0:41 Jakarta, Indonesia Won the interim ONE Featherweight Championship.
Win 11–0 Ev Ting Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE: Warrior's Quest May 22, 2015 1 4:30 Kallang, Singapore
Win 10–0 Rob Lisita Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE FC: Roar of the Tigers October 17, 2014 1 1:08 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Win 9–0 Lee Morrison Decision (unanimous) M-1 Challenge 47 April 4, 2014 5 5:00 Findon, Australia Defended the M-1 Global Featherweight Championship. Later vacated title.
Win 8–0 Yuri Ivlev TKO (punches) M-1 Challenge 41 August 21, 2013 2 3:56 Saint Petersburg, Russia Defended the M-1 Global Featherweight Championship.
Win 7–0 Vugar Bakhshiev Submission (rear-naked choke) M-1 Challenge 35 November 15, 2012 1 4:18 Saint Petersburg, Russia Return to Featherweight. Won the inaugural M-1 Global Featherweight Championship.
Win 6–0 Joakhim Tapi Submission (triangle choke) Pride of Caucasus 2012 September 23, 2012 1 2:22 Khasavyurt, Russia
Win 5–0 Mairbek Taisumov Decision (split) M-1: Battle of The Legends 2 June 21, 2012 3 5:00 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Win 4–0 David Kozma Submission (rear-naked choke) M-1 Challenge 31 March 16, 2012 2 2:10 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Win 3–0 Sheikh-Magomed Arapkhanov Decision (unanimous) M-1 Challenge 29 November 19, 2011 3 5:00 Ufa, Russia
Win 2–0 Yuri Vlasenko Submission (rear-naked choke) M-1 Selection Ukraine 2010: Round 6 November 6, 2010 1 1:18 Kyiv, Ukraine Lightweight debut.
Win 1–0 Shamil Gadzhiev Submission (armbar) Krasnodar Challenger 3 June 4, 2010 1 3:10 Krasnodar, Russia Featherweight debut.

Notes edit

  1. ^ ONE Championship refers to their 155 lb class as Featherweight, but under the Association of Boxing Commissions in the United States, 155 lbs is considered Lightweight.
  2. ^ ONE Championship refers to their 170 lb class as Lightweight, but under the Association of Boxing Commissions in the United States, 170 lbs is considered Welterweight.

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Marat Gafurov | ONE Championship". onefc.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  2. ^ "Challenge Cup Mix Fight 3". Sherdog. Archived from the original on 2022-07-23. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  3. ^ "MMA News – M-1 Challenge 35 official fight card and Video promo". www.allthebestfights.com. 2022-11-12. Archived from the original on 2022-07-23. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  4. ^ "M-1 Challenge 35 - 15th Anniversary Results". Event Mixed Martial Arts. Archived from the original on 2022-07-23. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  5. ^ "ONE FC 21 - ROAR OF TIGERS". Sherdog. 2014-10-17. Archived from the original on 2022-08-12. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  6. ^ "One FC 21: Roar Of Tigers Results & Highlights". LowKick MMA. 2014-10-14. Archived from the original on 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  7. ^ "ONE Championship 27: Winners and Scorecards from Warrior's Quest Fight Card". Bleacher Report. 2015-05-23. Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  8. ^ "One Championship: Odyssey of Champions". Fight News Australia. 2015-09-27. Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  9. ^ "One Championship 31 - Odyssey of Champions". MMA Core. 2015-09-27. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  10. ^ "ONE Championship 33: Dynasty of Champions". MMA Junkie. 2015-11-21. Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  11. ^ "ONE CHAMPIONSHIP 'KINGDOM OF CHAMPIONS' RESULTS: NAITO CLAIMS GOLD, GAFUROV RETAINS". Combat Press. 2016-05-27. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  12. ^ "ONE CHAMPIONSHIP DEFENDING HONOR RESULTS: FOLAYANG UNSEATS AOKI, GARUROV RETAINS". Combat Press. 2016-11-11. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  13. ^ "ONE CHAMPIONSHIP QUEST FOR GREATNESS RESULTS: NGUYEN UNSEATS GAFUROV". Combat Press. 2017-08-18. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  14. ^ "Marat Gafurov returns with dominant performance against Emilio Urrutia". Yahoo! News. 2018-04-21. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  15. ^ "Koyomi Matsushima Makes Stunning ONE Debut With Knockout Of Marat Gafurov". Yahoo! News. 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  16. ^ "ONE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR HONOR RESULTS: HAGGERTY DETHRONES SAM-A". Combat Press. 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  17. ^ "Iuri Lapicus Submits Marat Gafurov In 67 Seconds". ONE Championship. 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  18. ^ "Gafurov Ends Tynanes' Unbeaten Run With Gritty Decision Win". ONE Championship. 2020-12-18. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  19. ^ "MARAT GAFUROV VS OK RAE YOON". MMA Fighting. 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  20. ^ "ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash Live Stream and Results". Cageside Press. 2022-07-22. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  21. ^ "Экс-чемпион M-1 Challenge Гафуров победил Бораросу болевым приемом на ACA 172". mma.metaratings.ru (in Russian). March 9, 2024.
  22. ^ Phillips, Sabrina. "Full Team Lineups Confirmed For AIGA Champions League Turkey Qualifier 2024". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 26 February 2024.

External links edit