UFC Qatar Reportedly Adds Huge Fight Featuring Undefeated Islam Makhachev Teammate

The upcoming UFC Qatar card has reportedly added a huge matchup between two of the lightweights division’s most promising up-and-coming names.

Scheduled to take place at the Ali Bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena in Doha on November 21, this year’s edition of UFC Qatar will mark the UFC’s second-ever event in the country after first visiting Qatar in November of last year.

The card doesn’t have a main event as of yet, but earlier this week it added a pair of fan-friendly matchups pitting Santiago Luna against Aleksandre Topuria and former flyweight title challenger Kyoji Horiguchi against Asu Almabayev.

Manoel Sousa vs. Magomed Zaynukov Added to UFC Qatar

With less than a month to go until UFC Qatar, Laerte Viana reports that the card has received another major addition in the form of a lightweight matchup between Manoel Sousa and Magomed Zaynukov.

A contract winner on Dana White’s Contender Series last year, Sousa began his professional MMA career with 11-straight wins and only went the distance once in his PFL Challenger Series matchup with Paulo Henrique Laia in 2023.

Following a first-round knockout of Tim Wilde in his Bellator debut the following year, Sousa suffered his first loss at the hands of Archie Colgan in a battle between undefeated fighters at Bellator Champions Series: London.

“Manumito” rebounded with a win in the LFA before defeating Christian Perez on DWCS, and he’s now 2-0 in the UFC this year after he stopped Bolaji Oki in the final round of his promotional debut and took a unanimous decision over Richie Miranda in his last outing in August.

Undefeated Magomed Zaynukov Trains With UFC Champion Islam Makhachev

Sousa will take on a fellow DWCS contract winner at UFC Qatar, as Zaynukov also punched his ticket to the UFC last year when he took a unanimous decision over Lucas Caldas.

That victory over Caldas brought Zaynukov’s professional record to a perfect 8-0, and at UFC Abu Dhabi the 31-year-old extended that perfect run when he handed Damian Rzepecki his first loss.

“Wild Chanko” is also a training partner of current UFC Welterweight Champion Islam Makhachev, so expectations around the Russian were significant coming out of DWCS and will remain so when he faces a stiff test in Sousa at UFC Qatar.

UFC Qatar Fight Card

Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Asu Almabayev

Santiago Luna vs. Aleksandre Topuria

Manoel Sousa vs. Magomed Zaynukov

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