UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker Live Winners and Losers, Results
After a rousing stop in New York City last weekend, the UFC touched down in Qatar on Saturday for an exciting 14-fight card.
The card was headlined by an apparent No. 1 contender fight at lightweight, with streaking finisher Arman Tsarukyan taking on hard-nosed veteran Dan Hooker. It turned out to be a pretty one-sided affair, with Tsarukyan busting Hooker up on the feet on the way to a submission win in round two.
The co-main event, a welterweight fight between Ian Machado Garry and Belal Muhammad, had similarly high stakes. Unfortunately, it didn't result in a finish, but Garry managed to assert himself as one of the top contenders in his weight class with a hard-fought decision victory.
Beyond the top two fights, the card was packed with flashy finishes, including a big win from light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir, who floored Alonzo Menifield inside a round. Surging heavyweight contender Waldo Cortes-Acosta also delivered an impressive KO, stopping Shamil Gaziev inside a round. Another big winner of the night was former Rizin and Bellator champ Kyoji Horiguchi, who made a successful UFC return with a lopsided third-round submission win over a big favorite in Tagir Ulanbekov.
It may not have been as stacked a typical UFC pay-per-view, but in the end, it stands out as one of the best cards of the year.
Keep scrolling for complete results of the action, as well a rundown of the biggest winners and loser of the show.
UFC Fight Night Tsarukyan vs. Hooker: Live Results
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Arman Tsarukyan def. Dan Hooker via submission (triangle choke) at 3:34 of round two
Ian Machado Garry def. Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Volkan Oezdemir def. Alonzo Menifield via KO at 1:27 of round one
Myktybek Orolbai def. Jack Hermansson via KO at 2:46 of round one
Kyoji Horiguchi def. Tagir Ulanbekov via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:18 of round 3
Luke Riley def. Bogdan Grad via KO at 0:30 of round two
Nicolas Dalby def. Saygid Izagakhmaev via split decision (29-28 x2 28-29)
Asu Almabayev def. Alex Perez via submission (guillotine choke) (R3, 0:22)
Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev def. Raffael Cerqueira by submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:33 of round one
Aleksandre Topuria def. Bekzat Almakhan via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Ismail Naurdiev def. Ryan Loder by KO at 1:26 of round one
Nurullo Aliev def. Shem Rock via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Winner: Erasing Any Doubt
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There has been quite a bit of debate of late about who should get the first crack at fearsome UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria. Paddy Pimblett is one frontrunner. Justin Gaethje is another. The winner of Saturday's main event, a showdown between Arman Tsarukyan, was predicted to be another.
In the end, the main event was all Tsarukyan. It frankly shouldn't have surprised anybody, but he absolutely dominated Hooker, battering him on the feet in round one, and tapping him out with an arm triangle choke in round two.
After Tsarukyan's lopsided victory in Doha, there is no longer any room for debate as to who should be next for Topuria. He is the only sensible choice. His win over Hooker and earlier win over Charles Oliveira are more meaningful than anything Pimblett has accomplished in the UFC so far, and that's without mentioning his stoppage wins over Beneil Dariush and Joel Alvarez. Gaethje, meanwhile, is still just one win removed from a knockout loss to Max Holloway.
While Tsarukyan didn't get an in-Octagon face-off with Topuria, who was in attendance for the event, he staked his claim to a title shot in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping.
"There is just one No. 1 contender: Arman Tsarukyan," he said. "Everybody knows I've got to fight for the title.
"Just send me the contract and I'll be there."
Hopefully, the UFC matchmakers get this one right. Pimblett and Gaethje might be slightly bigger names than Tsarukyan, but if we're going off merit, it's obvious what needs to happen.
Loser: Backing up the Talk
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The race for the first crack at new UFC welterweight champ Islam Makhachev is very tight, with Shavkat Rakhmonov awaiting his chance, and Michael Morales and Carlos Prates both putting themselves in prime position for the opportunity at UFC 322 last weekend. The winner of today's Ian Machado Garry vs. Belal Muhammad also figured to land near the front of the pack, particularly with a flashy win.
Ahead of the fight, which served as Saturday's co-main event, Garry made many vehement promises that he would knock the former champion Muhammad out. Had he done so, it's arguable that he would have had the strongest case of anyone for a fight with Makhachev.
In the end, though, the Irish star got all he could handle from the former champ, taking some licks on the feet, and staving off takedown attempts throughout. As such, he had to settle for a close decision victory instead of the finish he was so confident would come.
It was definitely an impressive win, and absolutely the biggest of his career to date. However, he failed to make the statement he swore he'd make, and as such, may lose the opportunity to fight Makhachev to somebody else—most likely Rakhmonov or Morales, since he holds a recent win over Prates.
He certainly made a strong argument for himself in his fiery post-fight interview with Michael Bisping, but actions speak louder than words, and the action definitely left a lot to be desired.
Loser: Dropping Down
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Over the years, we've seen a number of aging fighters drop down to a lighter weight class with great results. Former featherweight champ Jose Aldo, who had a great run as a bantamweight at the end of his career, is a great example of this.
Unfortunately, these moves don't always go as planned. Jack Hermansson learned that the hard way in Qatar.
Hermansson spent many years as a staple of the middleweight top 15, and picked up some great wins during that time. However, after a brutal knockout loss against Gregory Rodrigues this summer, he elected to drop down to the welterweight division—a big change to be making at 37 years old.
It ended in disaster.
Hermansson was matched up with Myktybek Orolbai—a former lightweight–in his welterweight debut. Unfortunately, he ended up suffering an even worse knockout than he did against Rodrigues earlier this year, short-circuiting from an overhand right that seemed like it barely even landed.
It's hard not to feel for him. After his welterweight experiment went awry in Qatar, we can safely say this is not the division for him. Given that he no can seemingly no longer hang at middleweight either, that leaves him with very few options. In fact, it's hard to imagine him doing anything but retiring next.
Winner: Staying Busy
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Waldo Cortes-Acosta is the busiest man in the heavyweight division.
Earlier this very month, the hulking Dominican striker scored a dramatic knockout win over former PFL champ Ante Delija in his fourth fight of 2025. That seemed like a perfect way to end his year—but it turns out he wasn't done yet.
Earlier this week, just days ahead of the UFC's visit to Qatar, he agreed to step in and replace the injured Serghei Spivac against fellow top-15 heavyweight Shamil Gasiev. With essentially no time to prepare, it was a huge gamble for the Dominica. It very easily could have sent him into the new year riding a loss rather than a big win. Luckily, his gamble paid off. Big time.
Less than a minute and a half into the first round, in one of the first real exchanges of the fight, Cortes-Acosta floored his opponent with a rocket-fuelled right hook—and that was all she wrote. Just like that, he is now 4-1 in 2025, and set to start 2026 as one of the top contenders in the heavyweight division. Then again, his year might not be over yet.
In his post-fight interview with commentator Michael Bisping, he made a bold call to join next month's UFC 323 card—the final pay-per-view of the year.
"I want to fight again next month," he said, tabbing long-time contender Curtis Blaydes as a potential opponent. "I signed up for the UFC to fight."
It seems unlikely Cortes-Acosta gets his wish, as the UFC 323 lineup is already finalized. The good news is that he currently has more momentum than anyone else in his division thanks to his frenetic schedule of fights this year.
Winner: A Full Circle Moment
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Kyoji Horiguchi's first run in the UFC was fantastic. The Japanese flyweight went 7-1 in eight fights, losing only in a title fight against MMA legend Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson. However, he elected to leave the promotion in 2016, on the heels of three straight wins.
Horiguchi had a ton of success outside the UFC, winning many fights against high-level opposition, and notably striking gold in both Rizin and Bellator. In fact, he was so successful that he didn't really need to come back to the UFC. His resume was already plenty impressive.
To the elation of his fans, however, Horiguchi decided to re-sign with the UFC this year, and finally made his Octagon return against No. 11-ranked flyweight Tagir Ulanbekov in the opening bout of Saturday's main card.
Despite all his accomplishments, Horiguchi entered the Octagon with Ulanbekov as a sizeable betting underdog. Clearly, though, he didn't get the memo. The Japanese star was utterly dominant throughout the fight, absolutely hammering his opponent with kicks and leaping power punches on the feet, and shockingly thrashing him on the mat—to the point that he actually choked him unconscious in round three.
"That's how you make a UFC return," UFC commentator Michael Bisping said. "You come back against a high-ranked guy and you make it look easy."
Bisping is bang on. It was an absolutely brilliant performance from Horiguchi, and it will most likely send him hurtling into the flyweight top-10—a position he has been in before. While it remains to be seen who he is actually matched up with next, he shot for the stars in his post-fight interview, calling for a showdown with his teammate, reigning flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja.
He'll have his hands full if that's what happens, but after his showing in Qatar, there's no doubt he has a real shot of winning the belt—particularly given his familiarity with the champ. One way, it's great to have him back in the UFC after all these years. It's like he never left.
Loser: Living Up to Expectations
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It's no secret that many of the best fighters in the world train under the tutelage of the great Khabib Nurmagomedov in Dagestan. As such, we tend to have pretty high expectations for any new fighter who arrives in the UFC from that team.
The latest of Nurmagomedov's fighters to make his UFC debut was welterweight Saygid Izagakmaev, who took on Nicolas Dalby on Saturday's undercard, with champion Islam Makhachev in his corner. Izagakmaev made his first walk to the Octagon with even more hype than his teammates typically have, thanks to an impressive run in ONE Championship. The Dagestani prospect fought three times for the Asian fight promotion, most notably dominating Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki to a first-round TKO.
After so much success outside the UFC, the expectation was that Izagakmaev would make a big statement against Dalby in his debut. In the end, however, that's not what happened. Instead, the Nurmagomedov protege got all he could handle from the Danish veteran, who was able to stop takedowns, reverse position, and land on the feet over their three round meeting. By the time last round was up, it was quite unclear how the judges would score it, but they ultimately gave the win to Dalby, spoiling Izagakmaev's Octagon debut in the process.
It's very possible the Dagestani fighter will rebound and end up having a great career in the Octagon, but he completely failed to live up to expectations in his debut, and is going to have to score some big wins to recapture his hype.
Winner: Setting Records
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It's not easy to break records in the UFC. However, we still occasionally see fighters set new Octagon records. The latest to do so was Turkish light heavyweight Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev, who made his debut on Saturday's undercard.
Yakhyaev made his debut opposite Raffael Cerqueira, and aimed to keep a perfect record intact. He so in emphatic fashion, submitting his opponent with a rear-naked choke in just 33 seconds. It was an impressive win no matter how you look at it, but it actually goes down as the fastest submission victory in UFC light heavyweight history. That's quite a distinction to pick up in your first fight with the promotion.
After his record-setting win in Qatar, Yakhyaev is now 8-0 overall, with six first round finishes. In other words, he looks like he has the potential to make some big waves in the Octagon, particularly in a division as a shallow as light heavyweight. It's definitely too early to tout him as a future title challenger, but he is absolutely a fighter to watch, and whatever the future holds, he can take pride in his new Octagon record—something that is unlikely to be taken away from him anytime soon.
Loser: The Other Topuria
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UFC lightweight champ Ilia Topuria might be the best fighter alive right now—though welterweight champ Islam Makhachev would surely have something to say about that. One way or the other, he represents the pinnacle of excellence in the sport right now.
Ilia is not the only fighter in his family. His older brother Aleksandre is also a professional, and after a decision win over Cody Thicknesse in his UFC debut, made his second Octagon appearance against Bekzat Almakhan in Qatar.
Topuria and Almakhan's bantamweight clash went the distance, and ultimately went the way of the former by unanimous decision. It was an impressive win, to be sure, but Topuria simply did not show the level of brilliance we've come to expect from his brother. He endured several moments of adversity in the fight, and arguably lost the first round. More notably, he failed to score a finish for the second time in a row—something we've come to expect from fighters with his last name.
The elder Topuria could still have a great career in the Octagon. At 29, he certainly still has a lot of time to grow and improve. That being said, there is no indication as of yet that he is anywhere near the level of his brother, who has made a habit of knocking out some of the greatest fighters in history. If he wants to follow in his brother's footsteps, he's going to need to start producing some far more decisive results—ideally by way of stoppage.
Winner: Proving You Belong
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Moroccan middleweight Ismail Naurdiev very easily could have become an afterthought in MMA. After going 2-2 in his first UFC run, he was released by the promotion in 2020. From there, he then went 3-3 in his next six fights outside the Octagon, which suggested he wouldn't really amount to anything. However, after a first-round submission of Tahar Hadbi in the Brave CF cage, he was invited back to the UFC, and has since gone 2-1 in the Octagon.
His latest win occurred on Saturday's undercard, and was arguably the best of his career to date. His opponent was Ryan Loder. Loder had just finished up a stint sharpening his striking at Bangtao in Thailand, which suggested he might have some success on the feet in the matchup. However, this one was all Naurdiev, who flattened his opponent with a blistering overhand right at 1:26 of round one. It was as clean a KO as you'll find in MMA.
It's still way too early to say how this second UFC run will go for Naurdiev, who lost a decision to Junyong Park in his post recent fight. However, his stunning win over Loder, which may well earn him a post-fight bonus, proves he definitely belongs in the UFC, not on the regional circuit.
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