Athletes
The Return of Nursulton Ruziboev
Dangerous Middleweight Enters Matchup In Baku With New Team, Same Approach
Nursulton Ruziboev arrived in the UFC with more submission wins (20) than most newcomers have fights these days, and quickly made his presence felt in the middleweight division, earning stoppage wins over Brunno Ferreira and Sedriques Dumas to establish himself as someone to watch in the 185-pound weight class.
Then the six-foot-five fighter from Uzbekistan decided to drop down to welterweight.
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“What that taught me was that you do not want to come out not prepared and not ready,” Ruziboev said of what turned into a one-off venture to the 170-pound ranks ahead of his return to action opposite Andrey Pulyaev this weekend in the first of Saturday’s four middleweight contests in Baku, Azerbaijan. “Back then, I wanted to come out — my weight was 90kg, and I needed to cut down, and it was not a good decision. What my working weight is now is 84kg, which is middleweight — this is where I’m comfortable, this is where I do my best fights, and it’s an easy work weight for me to make.”
The experienced 32-year-old lost that lone welterweight appearance to Joaquin Buckley and then promptly returned to middleweight, where he resumed his rampaging ways. Last February in Seattle, he stopped Eric McConico in the second round, and in May, he outworked Dustin Stoltzfus to move to 4-0 inside the Octagon in the division, setting up a showdown with Ultimate Fighter winner Bryan Battle at UFC 319.
But Battle missed weight by a considerable margin; the bout was scrapped, and Ruziboev hasn’t fought since, having been forced to the sidelines with some injuries that needed addressing.
“Everything is great, everything is behind me now,” he said. “I had a really good training camp, and in just two, three days, I’m happy to show an exciting fight.”
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That training camp was largely spent at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, with a pocket of time carved out to help Khamzat Chimaev prepare for his UFC 328 clash with Sean Strickland out in Orange County.
The sunny climes were a change from Ruziboev’s previous training locales, as he entered the UFC working with the middleweight-heavy squad at Marquez MMA in Philadelphia, and understandably, the weather had a lot to do with the decision to relocate ahead of this fight.
Nursulton Ruziboev Knocks Out Eric McConico In Round 1 | UFC Seattle
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Nursulton Ruziboev Knocks Out Eric McConico In Round 1 | UFC Seattle
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“I still have a very good relationship with everybody at John Marquez’s gym; no issues there at all,” he said. “It’s just that I like Miami weather better, and Miami has always been a dream of mine, so I wanted to switch and get what I wanted, but no issues and no hard feelings at all with John Marquez.
“Just as good of a preparation as before,” he added. “The only thing different is the change of the gym, the change of the atmosphere. Other than that, the preparation went just as well as the other fights.”
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Saturday’s fight card in Azerbaijan brings Ruziboev back to compete close to his home country for the first time since arriving in the UFC, a moment that can carry real significance and weight with some athletes.
But for the Uzbek standout who is itching to return to action, the focus is on Saturday night itself and stepping in with Pulyaev and nothing else.
“Obviously, it’s great because it’s very close to home, but before the UFC, I had 40, 45 fights that were very close to home as well,” he said. “What’s important is that on the night of the fight, it’s just me, my opponent, and nobody else is gonna be there to fight for us. It doesn’t matter where the fight is because it’s between the two of us, and that’s it.”
A member of Dana White’s Contender Series Class of ’24, Pulyaev is himself a tall and rangy member of the middleweight class, and while he hasn’t enjoyed the same amount of success as Ruziboev has thus far, his strength of schedule has been strong.
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After dropping his debut to currently ranked Brit Christian Leroy Duncan and collecting his first win over fellow DWCS alum Nick Klein last summer, the 28-year-old Russian pushed rising star Ateba Gautier to his limits in January, losing by unanimous decision but giving a good account of himself, nonetheless.
The pair kick off what should be an eventful night in the division, as the four sets of competitors scheduled to hit the Octagon all sit in the same range just outside the rankings heading into the weekend, and will be jockeying for position through their performances on Saturday night in Baku.
But Ruziboev isn’t worried about any of that — he simply wants to get back to work, perform the same way he has thus far, and wait until the promotion tells him who he needs to take out next.
“I’m gonna fight the same way I always fight; I’m gonna still be aggressive, I’m gonna still pressure him,” he said. “I’m gonna fight a little more intelligent this time, but I’m still gonna bring all the aggression that I can, and what happens afterwards, whoever UFC suggests for me to fight, I’ll make sure to go through that next opponent.
“I’m not gonna pick myself an opponent; I’m gonna wait for the UFC to assign whoever is next.”
UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs Torres took place live from National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan on June 27, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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