Tofiq Musayev

Musayev controlled the opening round and, although Klein found some success in the second, it was a sharp combination late in the round that decided it — Klein went down flush, and Musayev followed him to the floor to finish at 4:07.

Key moments

• Musayev took the first round.
• Klein had spells of success early in the second.
• A flush combination late in the round dropped Klein, and ground strikes finished it.

Musayev's first UFC win came the hard way, with a full three-round decision over Ignacio Bahamondes in Seattle.

Key moments

• Beat Bahamondes by unanimous decision after fifteen minutes.
• Earned Fight of the Night honors in his second UFC appearance.
• The win followed the catchweight submission loss to Myktybek Orolbai.

Musayev's UFC debut ended in a first-round kimura loss to Myktybek Orolbai in a 165-pound catchweight bout.

Key moments

• Orolbai submitted Musayev with a kimura at 4:35 of round one.
• The fight was contested at a 165-pound catchweight.
• Musayev answered the loss by beating Ignacio Bahamondes in his next outing.

That win mattered because it came only months after the Bellator setback and showed he could still reassert himself quickly once the matchup moved back toward open striking exchanges.

Key moments

• Finished Okada with punches 1:11 into round two.
• The win snapped the one-fight skid from Bellator 292.
• It set up the later Rizin Landmark 7 knockout of Koji Takeda.

Shabliy stopped Musayev late in the third round and eliminated him in the Bellator lightweight world grand prix quarterfinals. The bout matters because it tested Musayev against another top veteran in a major bracket and exposed how punishing the wrong exchanges can be once the finish does not come first for him.

Key moments

• Shabliy ended the fight with a body kick at 0:29 of round three.
• The loss came in the Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix quarterfinal.
• Musayev rebounded later that year with knockouts of Akira Okada and Koji Takeda.

Musayev's Bellator quarterfinal lasted only twenty-seven seconds before he blasted Sidney Outlaw out with punches. The result mattered because it announced him immediately in the Bellator lightweight world grand prix and showed that his Rizin finishing power translated cleanly to another major stage.

Key moments

• Stopped Outlaw by TKO just 0:27 into round one at Bellator 283.
• The win moved Musayev into the Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix semifinal picture.
• It was his first fight after the Rizin loss to Roberto Satoshi de Souza.

Roberto Satoshi de Souza caught Musayev quickly and finished with a first-round triangle choke at Rizin 28.

Key moments

• De Souza submitted Musayev with a triangle choke at 1:12 of round one.
• The defeat followed Musayev's two-win night at the 2019 Rizin lightweight grand prix finals.
• He returned more than a year later and stopped Sidney Outlaw in Bellator.

Case was the semifinal hurdle on the same Rizin 20 card, and Musayev removed him with a first-round stoppage.

Key moments

• Stopped Johnny Case by TKO at 2:47 of the opening round.
• The finish sent Musayev into the Rizin lightweight grand prix final that same night.
• He followed it by beating Patricky Pitbull to win the tournament.

Musayev opened the grand prix finals stretch by hurting Damien Brown with a head kick and finishing with punches late in the first round.

Key moments

• Finished Brown by head-kick-and-punches TKO at 4:14 of round one.
• The bout served as Musayev's lightweight grand prix quarterfinal.
• It followed the June 2019 decision win over Daron Cruickshank.

Cruickshank forced Musayev to work a full fifteen minutes, but Musayev still collected a unanimous decision in Kobe.

Key moments

• Beat Cruickshank by unanimous decision after three rounds.
• The win came six months after Musayev's stoppage of Nobumitsu Osawa.
• It set up the lightweight grand prix quarterfinal with Damien Brown.

Osawa pushed the fight into round two, but Musayev still broke through with punches and another stoppage in Japan.

Key moments

• Stopped Osawa by punches at 1:19 of round two.
• The bout was Musayev's first Rizin appearance after the Marif Piraev finish.
• It launched the stretch that led into his 2019 tournament wins.

The Betergaraev bout ended via injury in round two, giving Musayev a less typical finish than his usual punching stoppages.

Key moments

• Won by TKO due to leg injury at 1:28 of the second round.
• The bout came four months after Musayev's stoppage of Murat Kocaturk.
• It preceded his May 2018 first-round win over Marif Piraev.

Kocaturk survived the first round, but Musayev still found the stoppage midway through the second at his home Orion Fight Arena banner.

Key moments

• Stopped Kocaturk with punches at 2:50 of round two.
• The bout followed Musayev's February 2017 stoppage of Murad Shakhbanov.
• It was his last fight before the 2018 WFCA stretch.

Jiang Tao was the other opponent Musayev stopped on the Chinese Wushu Fight League card, this time later in the opening round. The result mattered because it demonstrated the kind of single-night activity that padded his experience before he became a more recognizable tournament name.

Key moments

• Finished Jiang Tao by TKO at 3:52 of round one.
• The bout came on the same card and date as his win over Ooi Aik Tong.
• It followed his November 2015 stoppage of Bao Yincang.

Musayev stayed on the front foot and finished Bao Yincang with punches before the end of round one.

Key moments

• Stopped Bao Yincang with punches at 3:55 of round one.
• The finish followed Musayev's knockouts of Shamil Magomedzagidov and Magomed Alkuliev.
• It gave him three straight first-round stoppages at that stage.

Khalilov was the win Musayev needed after the spring loss to Evgeny Lakhin, and he got it by first-round stoppage.

Key moments

• Stopped Khalilov with punches at 3:33 of round one.
• The finish followed Musayev's first-round submission loss to Evgeny Lakhin in April 2014.
• It was his final victory before the October 2014 decision loss to Aigun Akhmedov.