Who is the only fighter to beat Damir Ismagulov in professional MMA?

Damir Ismagulov has caught the attention of many MMA fans since joining the UFC in 2018. Despite the Kazakh fighter having an amazing record in professional MMA, it isn't perfect. He has just one loss in his 25 outings, giving Ismagulov a record of 24-1.

Ramazan Esenbaev is the only fighter to have beaten the UFC's rising star. The bout took place under the M-1 Global banner back in 2015 and Esenbaev won via unanimous decision. The bout was Ismagulov's sixth outing as a professional MMA fighter, so the fight was contested over three rounds on the undercard of M-1 Challenge 61: Battle of Narts 2.

Watch Damir Ismagulov's only professional MMA loss here:

Ismagulov remained unbeaten during his first five professional MMA bouts, beating David Bácskai, Eldar Magomedov, Fuad Aliev, Sergey Andreev and Pedro Eugenio Granjo before losing to Ramazan Esenbaev.

Since his first and only defeat, 'Qazaq' has remained undefeated for seven years. He has been competing under the UFC's banner since 2018 after leaving M-1 Global. Damir Ismagulov's final bout in M-1 Global was against Artiom Damkovsky, which the Kazakh of course won via submission in the very first round.

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Was Damir Ismagulov unbeaten in the amateur MMA scene?

No, despite having an incredible professional MMA record of 24 wins and just one loss, Ismagulov didn't have a very good amateur MMA career. 'Qazaq' lost three times in a row before leaving the amateur circuit, with Ramazan Sulebanov, Salamat Isbulaev and Magomed Mamaev all beating the Kazakhstan-born fighter between 2014 and 2015.

The 31-year-old competed eight times as an amateur, winning his first five bouts in MMA. Damir Ismagulov simultaneously competed as a professional and amateur, beating Alexander Chernikh, Dmitriy Makarov, Magomed Tsechoev, Yurik Smoyan and Shakhban Suleimanov in 2014, but was also fighting as a professional at the time.

Ismagulov beat Alex Gorgees on his UFC debut and has since beaten four more UFC contenders. 'Qazaq' had a very tough test in his latest outing against Guram Kutateladze, winning via split decision but many believing the result could have gone in Kutateladze's favor.

The Kazakhstan-born MMA fighter is currently ranked #12 in the UFC's lightweight division and hopefully be matched with a top-ten opponent in his next bout. Ismagulov currently doesn't have a fight booked, but only fought three months ago at UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Emmett.