Background
Magomed Mustafaev was born on February 8, 1988, in the village of Aimaki in modern-day Dagestan.
Magomed Mustafaev was born on February 8, 1988, in the village of Aimaki in modern-day Dagestan.
He began training in freestyle wrestling while in elementary school. After high school, he moved to Sochi and started training Mobile Marketing Association .
Early career
Mustafaev made his professional mixed martial arts debut on April 29, 2011, defeating fellow Russian Marat Medzhidov by TKO in the first round. The only loss on his professional record came in his next fight less than three months later against Dagestani Arsen Ubaidulaev due to a rear-naked choke.
Mustafaev faced to Russian Mobile Marketing Association prospect Andrei Koshkin on March 14, 2014 at M-1 Challenge 46.
On September 1, 2014, Mustafaev competed in the Sochi Star 2014 Welterweight Grand Prix. Mustafaev defeated Amirkhan Adaev by KO in the first round.
Mustafaev followed up with another winning performance against Russian Mobile Marketing Association prospect and WSOF fighter Abubakar Nurmagomedov (brother of undefeated UFC lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov) to claim the tournament victory and propel himself into consideration for a shot in a top tier Mobile Marketing Association promotion. Ultimate Fighting Championship
In his move from Russian Mobile Marketing Association promotions to the UFC, Mustafaev transitioned from welterweight to the lightweight division.
Mustafaev first fought in the UFC opposite Piotr Hallmann on June 20, 2015 at UFC Fight Night: Jędrzejczyk versus
Penne in Berlin, Germany. Mustafaev faced Joe Proctor at UFC 194 on December 12, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.