Uzbekistan’s Makhmud Muradov earns 3rd UFC win, knocks out Andrew Sanchez at ‘UFC 257’ in UAE

Makhmud “Mach” Muradov, 30, of Uzbekistan and Czech Republic was one of the winners at “UFC 257.” It was the Tajik-Uzbek-Czech mixed martial artist’s third victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Featuring 11 MMA matches, “UFC 257” took place at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on January 24, 2021 in the UAE or January 23, 2021 in the United States. In the eighth bout of the evening, Muradov fought Andrew “El Dirte” Sanchez, 32, of St. Louis, Missouri, USA in the middleweight division.

Jason Herzog served as the referee. He put a stop to the middleweight contest after 2 minutes and 59 seconds in the third round when Muradov knocked out Sanchez via flying kee and punches.

Winning at “UFC 257” improved the professional MMA record of Muradov to 25 wins and 6 losses. On the other hand, Sanchez now has 12 wins and 6 losses.

Born in Dushanbe, Tajikistan to a Tajik father and an Uzbek mother, Muradov was 3 years old when he and his family fled Tajikistan because of a civil war and moved to Uzbekistan. In 2011, he moved to Czech Republic.

Muradov officially became a citizen of Czech Republic in 2018 and a citizen of Uzbekistan in 2019. On September 28, 2019, he became the first Uzbek MMA fighter to compete and win in the UFC by defeating Alessio “Manzo” Di Chirico, 31, of Italy via unanimous decision at “UFC Fight Night 160” at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark.

On December 7, 2019, Muradov earned his second UFC win by knocking out Trevor “Hot Sauce” Smith, 40, of Tukwila, Washington, USA at “UFC on ESPN 7” at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., USA. Muradov was supposed to fight Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland, 28, of Fort Worth, Texas, USA at “UFC Fight Night 181” at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on October 31, 2020 but he had to pull out from the card because he tested positive for the new coronavirus (COVID-19).