Marat Gafurov

Mixed martial arts career

Gafurov made his debut at Krasnodar Challenger Cup - Mix Fight 3 on June 4, 2010, against Shamil Gadzhiev, winning by submission in the first round. He faced Vugar Bakhshiev for the inaugural M-1 Global Featherweight Championship at M-1 Challenge 35 on November 15, 2012, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, winning by first-round submission. Gafurov made his ONE debut against Rob Lisita in the main event of ONE FC: Roar of the Tigers on October 17, 2014, winning by first-round submission. He faced Ev Ting at ONE: Warrior's Quest on May 22, 2015, defeating him via first-round submission. Gafurov received his first title shot when he faced Martin Nguyen for the interim ONE Featherweight World Championship at ONE: Odyssey of Champions on September 27, 2015. He set the record for fastest submission in ONE Championship history at 41 seconds and won the interim title. Gafurov faced Jadamba Narantungalag in a title unification bout at ONE: Dynasty of Champions (Beijing II) on November 21, 2015, winning by fourth-round submission via rear-naked choke to become the undisputed ONE Featherweight World Champion. He made his first title defense against Kazunori Yokota at ONE: Kingdom of Champions on March 27, 2016, winning by second-round submission via rear-naked choke. In his second title defense, he rematched Jadamba Narantungalag at ONE: Defending Honor on November 11, 2016, winning by first-round technical submission via rear-naked choke. Gafurov made his third title defense in a rematch against Martin Nguyen at ONE: Quest for Greatness on August 18, 2017, losing the title by second-round technical knockout, his first professional loss. After losing the title, he faced Emilio Urrutia at ONE: Heroes of Honor on April 20, 2018, winning by first-round technical submission via arm-triangle choke. Gafurov suffered his second professional loss when he lost to Koyomi Matsushima by first-round technical knockout at ONE: Conquest of Heroes on September 22, 2018. He defeated Tetsuya Yamada by unanimous decision at ONE: For Honor on May 3, 2019. Gafurov made his Lightweight (170 lbs) debut against Iuri Lapicus at ONE: Warrior's Code on February 7, 2020, losing by first-round submission via rear-naked choke. He defeated Lowen Tynanes by split decision at ONE: Collision Course on December 18, 2020. Gafurov lost to Ok Rae-Yoon by unanimous decision at ONE on TNT 3 on April 21, 2021. On July 22, 2022, he defeated Ariel Sexton by third-round technical knockout at ONE 159. On January 9, 2024, it was announced that Gafurov signed a deal with Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA). He made his ACA debut against Gábor Boráros at ACA 172 on March 9, 2024, winning by first-round submission via armbar.