UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker

UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker
The poster for UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateNovember 22, 2025 (2025-11-22)
VenueAli Bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena
CityAl Rayyan, Qatar
AttendanceNot announced[1]
Event chronology
UFC 322: Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker UFC 323: Dvalishvili vs. Yan 2

UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker (also known as UFC Fight Night 265) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 22, 2025, at the Ali Bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena in Al Rayyan, Qatar.[2]

Background

This event marked the promotion's debut in Qatar, which became the third country in the Middle East to host it, after the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.[2] There were initially rumors that the first event in the country would take place on May 17 at UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales, but that card was moved to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas for unknown reasons.[3]

The event headliner featured a lightweight bout between Arman Tsarukyan and Dan Hooker.[4]

A heavyweight bout between Serghei Spivac and Shamil Gaziev was scheduled for this event.[5] The pairing was originally scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales,[6] then shifted to UFC 316. However, Gaziev withdrew from that event due to a broken finger sustained during training.[7][8] In turn, Spivac withdrew from the bout for unknown reasons and was replaced by former LFA Heavyweight Champion Waldo Cortes-Acosta.[9]

A middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight Championship challenger Paulo Costa and Sharabutdin Magomedov was expected to take place at this event.[10] However, Magomedov withdrew due to undergoing nose surgery, and the bout was removed from the card.[11][12]

A heavyweight bout between promotional newcomers Marek Bujło and José Luiz was initially scheduled for the event.[13] However, Luiz was later replaced for undisclosed reasons by current LFA Heavyweight Champion Denzel Freeman, who also made his promotional debut.[14]

A flyweight bout between former UFC Flyweight Championship challenger Kyoji Horiguchi (who is also a former one-time RIZIN flyweight and two-time bantamweight champion, as well as a former Bellator bantamweight world champion) and Tagir Ulanbekov took place at this event.[15] The pairing was initially expected to meet at UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr. in June, but Horiguchi withdrew for undisclosed reasons.[16][17]

A light heavyweight bout between former KSW and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Błachowicz and Bogdan Guskov was scheduled for this event.[18] However, the pairing was moved to UFC 323 for unknown reasons.[19]

A featherweight bout between Muhammad Naimov and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Grasso vs. Team Shevchenko featherweight winner Mairon Santos was originally scheduled for this event.[20] However, for undisclosed reasons, the matchup was rescheduled to take place two weeks later at UFC 323.[21]

A bantamweight bout between Felipe Lima and Daniel Marcos was scheduled for this event.[22] However, Lima withdrew for undisclosed reasons, and Marcos was instead rescheduled to face a new opponent two weeks earlier at UFC Fight Night: Bonfim vs. Brown.[23]

Results

Main card (ESPN+)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Lightweight Arman Tsarukyan def. Dan Hooker Submission (arm-triangle choke) 2 3:34
Welterweight Ian Machado Garry def. Belal Muhammad Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) 3 5:00
Light Heavyweight Volkan Oezdemir def. Alonzo Menifield KO (knee and punches) 1 1:27
Welterweight Myktybek Orolbai def. Jack Hermansson KO (punch) 1 2:46
Heavyweight Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Shamil Gaziev KO (punch) 1 1:22
Flyweight Kyoji Horiguchi def. Tagir Ulanbekov Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) 3 2:18
Preliminary card (ESPN+)
Featherweight Luke Riley def. Bogdan Grad KO (punches) 2 0:30
Welterweight Nicolas Dalby def. Saygid Izagakhmaev Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) 3 5:00
Flyweight Asu Almabayev def. Alex Perez Submission (guillotine choke) 3 0:22
Light Heavyweight Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev def. Rafael Cerqueira Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 0:33
Bantamweight Aleksandre Topuria def. Bekzat Almakhan Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) 3 5:00
Middleweight Ismail Naurdiev def. Ryan Loder KO (punch) 1 1:26
Lightweight Nurullo Aliev def. Shaqueme Rock Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Heavyweight Denzel Freeman def. Marek Bujło Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00

[24]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[25]

  • Fight of the Night: No bonus awarded.
  • Performance of the Night: Arman Tsarukyan, Waldo Cortes-Acosta, Kyoji Horiguchi, and Luke Riley

See also

References

  1. ^ Mike Bohn (2025-11-23). "UFC Fight Night 265 post-event facts: Belal Muhammad hits new low". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
  2. ^ a b Jose Youngs (2025-07-09). "UFC announces first event in Qatar on Nov. 22, partnership with Visit Qatar". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  3. ^ Kang Daeho (2025-03-14). "Fight Night 259, Qatar → APEX". mk.co.kr. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  4. ^ Farah Hannoun (2025-10-01). "Arman Tsarukyan draws Dan Hooker for UFC Fight Night 265 main event in Qatar". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  5. ^ Farah Hannoun (2025-09-12). "Heavyweight matchup between Serghei Spivac and Shamil Gaziev headed to UFC Qatar". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-09-13.
  6. ^ Kirill Ivanov (2025-02-28). "Сергей Спивак и Шамиль Газиев могут провести бой 17 мая". allboxing.ru. Retrieved 2025-02-28. (in Russian)
  7. ^ Prince Horton (2025-04-01). "UFC 316 fight card levels up – heavyweights join the main card". athlonsports.com. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
  8. ^ Staff (2025-04-24). "Не Газиев. У Спивака новый соперник по UFC 316". vringe.com. Retrieved 2025-04-24. (in Russian)
  9. ^ Andrew Richardson (2025-11-20). "Waldo Cortes-Acosta saves UFC Qatar Heavyweight fight after last-second Serghei Spivac withdrawal". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  10. ^ Staff (2025-09-04). "Paulo Costa Books Shara 'Bullet' Magomedov Fight at UFC Qatar". lowkickmma.com. Retrieved 2025-09-04.
  11. ^ Ryan Harkness (2025-09-11). "Sorry, Qatar fans! Shara 'Bullet' Magomedov not fighting Paulo Costa in Doha". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2025-09-23.
  12. ^ Matt Erickson (2025-11-17). "UFC Qatar: How to watch Tsarukyan-Hooker and Garry-Muhammad, lineup, odds, more". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
  13. ^ Jacek Łosak (2025-09-22). "Wszystko jasne! Marek Bujło poznał rywala i datę debiutu w organizacji UFC". sportowefakty.wp.pl. Retrieved 2025-09-22. (in Polish)
  14. ^ Nolan King (2025-09-25). "UFC signs LFA champ 'Luke Fox' Denzel Freeman". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  15. ^ Cassandra Pallagud (2025-10-02). "UFC® Fight Night Doha to debut with Arman Tsarukyan vs Dan Hooker showdown on 22 November 2025". iloveqatar.net. Retrieved 2025-10-02.
  16. ^ Staff (2025-04-11). "UFC sets Fight Night event in Baku for June, headlined by Hill vs. Roundtree". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
  17. ^ Mike Bohn (2025-05-19). "Kyoji Horiguchi's UFC return delayed, Tagir Ulanbekov gets new opponent in Baku". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  18. ^ Timothy Wheaton (2025-08-31). "Jan Błachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov set for UFC Qatar debut". lowkickmma.com. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  19. ^ Farah Hannoun and Nolan King (2025-10-13). "Jan Blachowicz meets rising contender at UFC 323". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  20. ^ Diego Ribas (2025-10-15). "Mairon Santos enfrenta Muhammad Naimov no UFC Catar, em novembro". agfight.com. Retrieved 2025-10-16. (in Brazilian Portuguese)
  21. ^ Nolan King (2025-10-22). "Jalin Turner's UFC comeback announced vs. violent lightweight staple". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
  22. ^ Jakubisko (2025-09-06). "Aktuálne: Bývalý šampión Oktagonu má oznámený ďalší ťažký zápas v organizácii UFC". sport.aktuality.sk. Retrieved 2025-09-06. (in Slovak)
  23. ^ Alexander Behunin (2025-10-29). "Switcheroo! UFC Vegas 110 coughs up bantamweight bout, spits it to UFC Vegas 111". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2025-10-29.
  24. ^ "UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2025-10-02.
  25. ^ Matt Erickson (2025-11-22). "UFC Qatar bonuses: Waldo Cortes-Acosta's legendary turnaround pays off". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
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