The Dagestani “Wolverine” Omari Akhmedov has been released from the UFC following a split-decision loss at UFC 264.
The fellow American Top Team (ATT) fighter has parted ways with the UFC and MMA Fighting was the first source to reveal the departure.
The UFC has parted ways with longtime octagon veteran Omari Akhmedov following a split decision loss to Brad Tavares at UFC 264, multiple sources told me. Story coming to @MMAFighting.
— Guilherme Cruz (@guicruzzz) July 14, 2021
The UFC 264 event was headlined by one of the biggest trilogies of all time when “The Notorious” Conor McGregor made his last stand against Dustin Poirier. The night was filled with injuries and controversy but in the end “The Diamond” was paid in full. The night was truly special and PPV numbers rolling in were all singing the same tune– $$$
Omari Akhmedov Was Released From UFC
The release from the UFC came as a huge shock considering his fight with Brad Tavares was not only exciting but downright exhilarating. In fact, the result saw one of the judges give Akhmedov the fight. Despite Akhmedov winning the fight in the eyes of one judge, the bout concluded with the “Wolverine” losing to Tavares in a razor-close battle.
Prior to his fight with Hawaii’s Tavares, Akhmedov lived up to his nickname “Wolverine” when he dispatched Tom Breese with an arm-triangle choke in the second round back in January. The fight saw both men pushing violence and a pace that Akhmedov could only keep up with by the end of each sounding bell.
As a 15-fight UFC veteran, Akhmedov’s departure is surprising as the Russian was on a roll from 2016-2019. After the fighter compiled a streak of wins in the UFC, the Dagestani was tasked with taking on the former middleweight champion Chris Weidman. Suffice to say, Weidman got the job done despite a valiant grappling effort from Akhmedov.
After his win against Breeze in Jan. Akhmedov quickly turned around six months later, but it ended up hurting him in the end, and lost his fight. Typically, the UFC only releases fighters after they have lost consecutive fights, however that’s not the case for Akhmedov.
The Russian was a long-time UFC fighter and has been with the organization since 2013. In addition, Akhmedov leaves the organization with a professional record of 21-6-1.
Where would you like to see Omari Akhmedov compete next?