Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov

Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov
Born	(1989-01-16) January 16, 1989 Sernovodskoye, Chechnya, Russia
Occupation	Professional mixed martial artist
Years active	2010s–present
Known for	ACA Lightweight Championship (two-time)

Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov (born January 16, 1989) is a professional mixed martial artist from Russia who competes in the Lightweight category within the Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA). He currently holds the ACA Lightweight Championship title and is positioned at #15 in the global Lightweight rankings according to Fight Matrix.

Background

Originating from Sernovodskoye in Chechnya, Abdulvakhabov embarked on his athletic journey at the age of seven, beginning with football. During his teenage years, his focus shifted towards wrestling, a transition inspired by his elder brother who introduced him to various sports including boxing. However, due to ongoing regional conflicts, he had limited access to wrestling training during his early years.

At seventeen, he relocated to Moscow to pursue legal studies while simultaneously training in freestyle wrestling. Acting on his brother’s recommendation, he started practicing hand-to-hand combat a year later and swiftly claimed victory in the Moscow regional championship. After two years, he established a connection with Akhmed Musaev, who became instrumental in directing him towards hand-to-hand combat and combat sambo disciplines.

Early career

Approximately eighteen months after beginning training under a new coach, Abdul-Aziz launched his mixed martial arts journey in a one-day ProFC tournament. He secured a win against Salim Kaslukov but was defeated by unanimous decision against the more seasoned Magomed Alkhasov. Over the next two months, he achieved three additional victories across different promotions before taking an eighteen-month hiatus. Following two more wins post-break, he signed with the ACB organization.

Absolute Championship Akhmat

Abdul-Aziz debuted in ACB on April 6, 2014. Initially sidelined by injury, he recovered and entered as a replacement at ACB 5, where he triumphed over undefeated Islam Makoev by unanimous decision, advancing to the semifinals. At ACB 7, he secured a second-round guillotine submission against Rasul Ediev.

Despite undergoing surgery for a serious injury, Abdul-Aziz continued competing. At ACB 9, in the final bout, he earned the ACB Lightweight Championship by knocking out Ali Bagov with a spinning back kick in round three. Subsequently, he took a year off to focus on rehabilitation.

Upon returning at ACB 17, Abdul-Aziz defeated Vadim Rasul. He then maintained his championship status with victories over Zulfikar Usmanov at ACB 22 and Julio Cesar De Almeida at ACB 27.

His inaugural defense of the lightweight title occurred at ACB 32 in Moscow against Eduard Vartanyan, whom he overcame via first-round TKO.

In 2016 at ACB 48, Abdul-Aziz faced Ali Bagov once more. Although Bagov controlled early exchanges, health complications forced him to withdraw; meanwhile, Abdul-Aziz’s pre-existing knee injury also affected his performance and required surgical intervention followed by prolonged recovery.

At ACB 77 in 2017, he successfully defended his belt against Eduard Vartanyan in his first five-round contest, retaining the championship.

In 2018, Abdul-Aziz lost the lightweight title to Ali Bagov via majority decision at ACB 89.

He was slated to compete against Marcin Held at ACA 92 in 2019 but was replaced by Brian Foster, who subsequently lost by first-round submission. Abdul-Aziz also missed a scheduled bout with Imanali Gamzatkhanov at ACA 99, where Gamzatkhanov was submitted in round two.

In 2020, Abdul-Aziz regained the lightweight crown by defeating Alexander Sarnavskiy through unanimous decision at ACA 111.

He successfully defended this title against former UFC competitor Hacran Dias on November 5, 2021, at ACA 131, winning via split decision.

A unification match against interim champion Mukhamed Kokov was initially planned for ACA 162 in September 2023 but was postponed due to health concerns and rescheduled for ACA 164 on October 4.

During ACA 164, as part of the 2023 ACA Lightweight Grand Prix quarterfinals, Abdul-Aziz unified the lightweight championship by defeating Kokov with a second-round TKO delivered through an elbow strike followed by ground-and-pound finishing techniques.

Mixed Martial Arts

• Absolute Championship Akhmat
  • ACA Lightweight Title (Two-time champion, reigning)
    • Total of five successful title defenses
      • Three defenses during initial championship period
      • Two defenses in current title reign

Mixed Martial Arts Record

|- |Win |align=center|22–2 |Ali Bagov |KO (punch) |ACA 189 | |align=center|2 |align=center|1:11 |Grozny, Russia | |- |Win |align=center|21–2 |Ali Abdulkhalikov |Split decision |ACA 182 | |align=center|5 |align=center|5:00 |Moscow, Russia | |- |Win |align=center|20–2 |Mukhamed Kokov |TKO (punches) |ACA 164 | |align=center|2 |align=center|1:55 |Grozny, Russia | |- |Win |align=center|19–2 |Hacran Dias |Split decision |ACA 131 | |align=center|5 |align=center|5:00 |Moscow, Russia | |- ... [Record continues highlighting significant victories and title defenses, emphasizing professional achievements and championship tenure]

See also

• List of current ACA fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists