# Asu Almabayev

Asu Abaiuly Almabayev (Kazakh: Асу Абайұлы Алмабаев; born January 25, 1994) is a Kazakh professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2013, Almabayev has also competed in M-1 Global, where he is a former Interim M-1 Global Flyweight Champion. As of March 4, 2025, he is #9 in the UFC flyweight rankings.

## Background

Almabayev was born on January 25, 1994, in the village of Janatalap in the Sarysu District of the Jambyl Region of Kazakhstan. He was raised by his grandparents until he was ten. At the age of five, he began to train wrestling. When he was in the fifth grade, he and his family moved to Almaty, where he attended other combat sport classes such as karate, boxing, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. While in Almaty, Almabayev worked at a market, where his parents had a small shop. He worked at the market until he was 23. In BJJ, Almabayev became the champion of Kazakhstan and Asia. However, he eventually chose to compete in mixed martial arts after watching it on television while studying in college.

## Mixed martial arts career
### Early career

Almabayev made his professional MMA debut against Vadim Buseev on June 1, 2013, at Rod Fighting: Shield and Sword 4. He won the bout via unanimous decision.
After a three-year layoff, Almabayev returned in 2016 and won three early victories in the Alash Pride FC, Tech-Krep FC and Fight Nights Global promotions. In 2017, he suffered his first defeat at Fight Nights Global 58, losing to current UFC fighter Tagir Ulanbekov. Two months later, Almabayev returned to the cage at the Alash Pride FC tournament and suffered a second defeat, losing to Mehman Mamedov. Almabayev won his next thirteen fights in a row in the ACB, Alash Pride, Fight Nights Global, Naiza, M-1 Global and Brave Combat Federation organizations.

### M-1 Global

Almabayev faced Chris Kelades on October 19, 2019, at M-1 Challenge 105 for the Interim M-1 Global Flyweight Championship. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

### Brave Combat Federation

Almabayev made his Brave Combat Federation debut on August 21, 2021, against Aleksander Doskalchuk at Brave CF 53. He won the bout via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round.
Almabayev faced Imram Magaramov on March 11, 2022, at Brave CF 57. He won the bout via unanimous decision.
Almabayev faced Zach Makovsky on July 30, 2022, at Brave CF 60. He won the bout via split decision.
Almabayev faced Kenneth Maningat on November 26, 2022, at Brave CF 66. He won via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

Almabayev made his UFC debut against Ode' Osbourne on August 5, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 50. He won the bout via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round. This fight earned him the Performance of the Night award.
Almabayev faced C.J. Vergara on March 9, 2024, at UFC 299. At the weigh ins, Vergara weighed in at 127 pounds, one pound over the flyweight non-title fight limit, which led the bout to proceed at catchweight with 30 percent of Vergara's purse going to Almabayev. He won the bout via unanimous decision.
Almabayev faced Jose Johnson on June 15, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 58. He won the bout via unanimous decision.
Almabayev faced Matheus Nicolau on October 19, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 245. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Almabayev was scheduled to face Steve Erceg on March 1, 2025 at UFC Fight Night 253. However, Erceg was moved to headline UFC on ESPN 64 and was replaced by Allan Nascimento. However, Almabayev's opponent was changed to Manel Kape due to the injury of Kape's original opponent Brandon Royval, and the bout headlined UFC Fight Night 253. During the fight, Almabayev tried to protest an eye poke but after the referee did not notice it, this led to the finishing sequence which led Kape to win the bout by technical knockout in the third round.

## Championships and accomplishments

* Ultimate Fighting Championship
** Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Ode' Osbourne
* M-1 Global
** Interim M-1 Flyweight Championship (One time)

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 24 matches | 21 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 2 |
| By submission | 9 | 0 |
| By decision | 9 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 21–3 | Manel Kape | TKO (retirement) | UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Almabayev | March 1, 2025 | 3 | 2:16 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 21–2 | Matheus Nicolau | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs. Pereira | October 19, 2024 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 20–2 | Jose Johnson | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Perez vs. Taira | June 15, 2024 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 19–2 | C.J. Vergara | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 299 | March 9, 2024 | 3 | 5:00 | Miami, Florida, United States | Catchweight (127 lb) bout; Vergara missed weight. |
| Win | 18–2 | Ode' Osbourne | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font | August 5, 2023 | 2 | 3:11 | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 17–2 | Kenneth Maningat | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Brave CF 66 | November 26, 2022 | 2 | 3:30 | Bali, Indonesia | |
| Win | 16–2 | Zach Makovsky | Decision (split) | Brave CF 60 | July 30, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Isa Town, Bahrain | |
| Win | 15–2 | Imram Magaramov | Decision (unanimous) | Brave CF 57 | March 11, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Isa Town, Bahrain | |
| Win | 14–2 | Kayck Alencar | KO (punch) | Naiza FC 36 | December 29, 2021 | 3 | 0:27 | Almaty, Kazakhstan | |
| Win | 13–2 | Aleksander Doskalchuk | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Brave CF 53 | August 21, 2021 | 2 | 3:47 | Almaty, Kazakhstan | |
| Win | 12–2 | Darkhan Skakov | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Naiza FC 27 | December 24, 2020 | 1 | 3:29 | Almaty, Kazakhstan | Won the vacant Naiza FC Flyweight Championship. |
| Win | 11–2 | Chris Kelades | Decision (unanimous) | M-1 Challenge 105 | October 19, 2019 | 5 | 5:00 | Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan | Won the interim M-1 Global Flyweight Championship. |
| Win | 10–2 | Pierre Ludet | Submission (guillotine choke) | M-1 Challenge 101 | March 30, 2019 | 2 | 1:45 | Almaty, Kazakhstan | |
| Win | 9–2 | Kiril Fomenkov | Submission (rear-naked choke) | M-1 Challenge 100 | December 15, 2018 | 2 | 3:51 | Atyrau, Kazakhstan | |
| Win | 8–2 | Saud Karagishov | TKO (punches) | Fight Nights Global 88 | August 31, 2018 | 2 | 4:09 | Astana, Kazakhstan | Catchweight (130 lb) bout; Karagishov missed weight. |
| Win | 7–2 | Shamil Akhmaev | Decision (unanimous) | Berkut Young Eagles 4 | April 29, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Tolstoy-Yurt, Russia | |
| Win | 6–2 | Kenan Jafarli | Decision (unanimous) | Alash Pride FC: Almaty Arena | December 30, 2017 | 2 | 5:00 | Almaty, Kazakhstan | |
| Win | 5–2 | Ibrahim Mamaev | Submission (Peruvian necktie) | ACB 69 | September 9, 2017 | 2 | 2:07 | Almaty, Kazakhstan | |
| Loss | 4–2 | Mehman Mamedov | Decision (unanimous) | Alash Pride FC: Alash Aibary | April 1, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Almaty, Kazakhstan | |
| Loss | 4–1 | Tagir Ulanbekov | TKO (submission to punches) | Fight Nights Global 58 | January 28, 2017 | 3 | 4:51 | Kaspiysk, Russia | |
| Win | 4–0 | Galamirza Ayvazov | Submission (armbar) | Fight Nights Global 45 | April 22, 2016 | 1 | 3:41 | Ufa, Russia | Catchweight (130 lb) bout. |
| Win | 3–0 | Oleg Erik | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Tech-Krep FC: Southern Front 3 | March 3, 2016 | 1 | 4:04 | Krasnodar, Russia | |
| Win | 2–0 | Yeldos Kaliev | TKO (punches) | Alash Pride FC: Selection 13 | February 14, 2016 | 1 | 4:32 | Kaskelen, Kazakhstan | Flyweight debut. |
| Win | 1–0 | Vadim Buseev | Decision (unanimous) | R.O.D: Shield and Sword 4 | June 1, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Moscow, Russia | Bantamweight debut. |