Former RIZIN and Bellator star Tofiq Musayev is headed to the UFC.
His debut is already set, and it’ll be in his home country. Musayev (22-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will take on Myktybek Orolbai (13-2-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in a three-round lightweight bout at UFC on ABC 8. The event takes place June 21 at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Musyaev, 35, has not competed since November 2023. He rose to notoriety in RIZIN with five straight wins, including a tournament championship. In the final, he defeated Patricky Freire. After a loss to Roberto de Souza, Musayev signed with Bellator and went 1-1 under the promotion’s banner. Following the Bellator-PFL merger, Musayev returned to RIZIN and won back-to-back fights. He then signed with GFL, but the MMA league never got off the ground.
Orolbai, 27, aims to bounce back from a carnage-filled war vs. Mateusz Rebecki in October. The bout earned Fight of the Night and saw both men bloodied and battered. Orolbai lost a split decision, which marked his first UFC defeat. His first two UFC fights were wins vs. Uros Medic and Elves Brener.
Current UFC on ABC 8 lineup
- Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree
- Rafael Fiziev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev
- Myktybek Orolbai vs. Tofiq Musayev
- Azat Maksum vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
- Ismail Naurdiev vs. Jun Yong Park
- Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Mohammed Usman
- Irina Alekseeva vs. Klaudia Sygula
- Melissa Mullins vs. Darya Zheleznyakova
- Nikolas Motta vs. Nazim Sadykhov
- Bogdan Grad vs. Muhammad Naimov