Omari Akhmedov  Omari Sirazhudinovich Akhmedov (; born October 12, 1987 in Dagestan) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist of Lak heritage, who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of June 10, 2020, he is #11 in the UFC middleweight rankings. Akhmedov was born on October 12, 1987 in the town of Kizlyar in modern-day Dagestan, Russia, and is a devout Sunni Muslim. Like many children in Dagestan, Akhmedov engaged in freestyle wrestling from a young age and would go on to hold an accomplished career in the sport before transitioning to MMA. Before his career in MMA, Akhmedov also had accomplished careers in combat sambo, as well as Russian hand-to-hand combat and Russian pankration. Akhmedov made his professional MMA debut on January 30, 2010, when he faced Iskhan Zakharian at ProFC: Fight Night 2. He won the fight via rear-naked choke. Following this, Akhmedov would compile a professional record of 12–1 before being signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship in September 2013. Akhmedov signed a four-fight deal with the UFC in September 2013. In his promotional debut, Akhmedov faced Thiago Perpétuo on November 9, 2013 at . It was a back-and-forth fight that saw both men rocked by punches before Akhmedov won the fight via knockout. The win also earned him his first "Fight of the Night" bonus award. After the fight, Akhmedov expressed a desire to move down to welterweight. In his welterweight debut, Akhmedov faced Gunnar Nelson on March 8, 2014 at . He lost the fight via guillotine choke submission in the first round. Akhmedov faced Mats Nilsson on January 3, 2015 at UFC 182. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Akhmedov faced Brian Ebersole on June 6, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 68, replacing an injured Alan Jouban. He won the fight via TKO after Ebersole was unable to continue after the first round due to a knee injury sustained from a kick by Akhmedov. Akhmedov was expected to face Lyman Good on December 10, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 80. However, Good was pulled from the bout in late October and was replaced by Sérgio Moraes.