Fighter Profile: Dovlet Yagshimuradov

Background

Turkmen light heavyweight, a former ACA light heavyweight champion and one of the most experienced fighters in the PFL’s 205lb division. His professional record is 25-8-1.

Career timeline

• Built his career largely in ACA in Russia, where he won and defended the light heavyweight championship.
• Joined Bellator in 2021 and moved into the PFL following the promotions’ merger.
• Put together a seven-fight winning streak going into his PFL light heavyweight world title fight.
• Lost that title fight to Corey Anderson by unanimous decision (49-45, 48-47, 49-45) on 3 October 2025 at PFL Champions Series in Dubai, ending the streak.
• Also holds a 58-second knockout win over Impa Kasanganay.

Fight craft

Yagshimuradov is a well-rounded, physically strong veteran who does his best work in the clinch and on the front foot, mixing looping power shots with knees and takedown attempts. He is durable and hard to discourage. Against Anderson his problem was positional rather than physical: once he was taken down and stacked, he could not create the scrambles he needed, and the fight became a four-round grind in the champion’s favour.

In the modern MMA landscape

Our wider MMA analysis mentions Yagshimuradov only as the man Anderson beat. Worth adding is the streak he brought into that fight — seven straight wins, including a 58-second knockout of Impa Kasanganay — which is why the bout was billed as a genuine title-decider rather than a routine defence.

Return to What the Modern MMA Game Demands.

Sources

• Sherdog — By the numbers: Corey Anderson vs Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov
• ESPN — Dovlet Yagshimuradov fight history
• Sports Illustrated — Yagshimuradov stuns Kasanganay with 58-second KO

Record and competitive status checked 1 August 2026.