Abubakar Magomedovich Nurmagomedov (born November 13, 1989) is a Russian mixed martial artist, who is currently competing in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a three-time Combat Sambo World Championship bronze medalist and Russian national combat sambo champion. Background Abubakar Nurmagomedov was born on November 13, 1989 in the village of Goksuv in Khasavyurtovsky District, Dagestan. At primary school Abubakar began to train in freestyle wrestling, and after high school he switched to Combat Sambo under Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. In 2014 he won the bronze medal match at the Combat Sambo World Championships. Mixed martial arts career Early career Nurmagomedov made his professional MMA debut in October 2011 against Ibrahim Dzhantukhanov of Russia, and won in the first round by Submission (armbar). At the Sochi Star tournament he lost to Magomed Mustafaev by technical knockout in the first round. World Combat Sambo Championship Abubakar came in third place in various world combat sambo tournaments, against multiple world champions like Yaroslav Amosov and Pavel Kusch, and Eldar Eldarov in the tournaments he competed in. World Series of Fighting In March Nurmagomedov signed a contract with WSOF. In his WSOF debut, Nurmagomedov defeated Jorge Moreno of USA on August 1, 2015 at WSOF 22 via unanimous decision. After his debut he beat next opponent from Las Vegas, Nevada Danny Davis Jr. on December 18, 2015 at WSOF 26 via unanimous decision. Nurmagomedov faced Matthew Frincu on April 2, 2016 at WSOF 30. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. Nurmagomedov faced John Howard on October 7, 2016 at WSOF 33. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Nurmagomedov faced Matt Secor on 18 March 2017 at WSOF 35. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Professional Fighters League Nurmagomedov competed at PFL welterweight Grand-Prix. He faced Pavel Kusch in the opening round at PFL 3 on July 5, 2018. He lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the second round. Nurmagomedov faced Jonatan Westin on August 16, 2018 at PFL 6. He won the fight by unanimous decision. On October 15, 2018, it was announced that Nurmagomedov would replace João Zeferino in the Welterweight Tournament at PFL 10 on October 20, 2018. He faced Bojan Veličković in the quarter-final round. The bout ended in a unanimous draw with Nurmagomedov advancing due to winning the first round. However, Nurmagomedov did not advance to semifinals due to