UFC Octagon
The UFC has signed Farman Hasanov. The fighter out of Azerbaijan makes his debut in front of his home crowd on June 27 against Eric Nolan in the welterweight division.
The event takes place at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. A banger of a match-up between Rafael Fiziev and Manuel Torres in the lightweight division will headline the card.
Hasanov gets the chance to make his first impression in the UFC in his home country. The 30-year-old fighting out of American Top Team has impressed so far in his professional career. After winning two fights in 2022 via TKO in the first round, he got signed by the well-known LFA organization. In his debut for LFA in 2024, he beat Luke Robers by unanimous decision. This was his first and, till now, his only fight that went the distance. Last year, Hasanov fought twice for the LFA.
He beat both his opponents, Marc-Ari Lewis and Abdurakhman Fazilov, by finish. With a 5-0 record, he now makes his UFC debut and takes on Eric Nolan. Nolan is two years younger than Hasanov but started his professional career a year earlier in 2021. The American fighter was one of the most recognizable faces of the CFFC promotion. Nolan struggled in the beginning of his career to build a good winning streak. But after three wins in 2024, he got his opportunity to fight for the CFFC title in 2025 against Blayne Richards. Nolan fought well and was able to knock out Richards in the very first round.
A massive win for the American who was hoping for a call from the UFC afterwards. That call came three months later when the UFC needed a short-notice opponent for Baisangur Susurkaev. Nolan answered the call and made his debut. Despite a good effort, Susurkaev won in the second round via submission. Nolan was supposed to make his sophomore appearance earlier this year against Jose Henrique but had to pull out of the fight. Now he is back and takes on the undefeated Hasanov.
Hasanov won’t be the only fighter from Azerbaijan fighting on the card. In the main event, Rafael Fiziev gets a fight for his home crowd against Manuel Torres. Fiziev also fought on the very first UFC Baku card last year. He won after three rounds against Ignacio Bahamondes. Now he gets the main event against Torres. Fiziev needs a win after a painful loss recently against Mauricio Ruffy. Fiziev looked good early on in the fight, but got caught and finished.
His opponent, Torres, looks for a spot in the top 15 in the division. The Mexican is one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC middleweight division. He won five of his six UFC fights all by finishes. He got a performance of the night bonus in all five of his wins. His only loss in the UFC came against Ignacio Bahamondes. And that is the man who got beaten by Fiziev. The Azerbaijani’s only victory in his last five fights.
Another Azerbaijani on the card is Nazim Sadykhov. He takes on Matheus Camilo at lightweight. Sadykhov stole the show last year with an epic fight and finish against Nikolas Motta. He won both the Fight of the Night and the Performance of the Night bonuses. Sadykhov lost his most recent fight against Fares Ziam and needs to win on home turf to keep the top 15 of the division in sight.
UFC Baku – June 27
Marcel Dorff Marcel Dorff covers Mixed Martial Arts & Soccer for Heavy.com. He has covered MMA on a professional level since 2022. More about Marcel Dorff
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