Muhammad Naimov’s Comeback Win Came Against Kaan Ofli
Muhammad Naimov returned to the win column with a unanimous decision over Kaan Ofli in Riyadh on February 1, 2025. The result followed Naimov’s first loss in the promotion, a rear-naked choke submission defeat to Felipe Lima in June 2024. The official scorecards were 30–27, 30–27 and 29–28, making the Ofli bout a clear rebound after a difficult finish. It was a useful reset, though the fights that followed show why one win should not be treated as proof of a lasting climb toward the rankings.
The verifiable story is more straightforward: Naimov stopped a three-fight winning run with the Lima loss, then beat Ofli over three rounds. The official event results confirm the decision and scorecards. The 29–28 card indicates at least one judge saw a closer contest than the other two, while all three awarded Naimov the fight.
Naimov’s early run helps put that setback in perspective. He made his promotional debut in June 2023 on short notice against Jamie Mullarkey and won by second-round TKO. He then took a unanimous decision over Nathaniel Wood and stopped Erik Silva after an injury forced the bout to end in the first round. Those three wins were followed by the Lima submission loss. The official fighter profile records the sequence and methods. It shows a fighter who had already produced both finishes and decisions before suffering his first defeat in the organization.
The win over Ofli did not turn out to be a one-off. In June 2025, Naimov added a unanimous-decision victory over Bogdan Grad, giving him back-to-back decision wins after the Lima loss. The profile lists the Grad result alongside his earlier win over Ofli. He returned to competition, won a closely scored fight, then followed it with another judges’ decision.
His momentum stalled again at the end of 2025. Mairon Santos stopped Naimov with strikes at 21 seconds of the third round on December 6. On September 5, 2026, Losene Keita knocked him out at 2:54 of the first round in Paris. The official December event recap and Paris results document both finishes. The current fighter profile lists Naimov at 13–5 and records the Keita bout as his latest result.
That makes the Ofli win an important recovery point, but not the start of an uninterrupted upward run. Naimov first bounced back with two decisions, then suffered stoppage losses to Santos and Keita. The immediate sporting question is whether he can respond to those defeats and re-establish consistency at featherweight. A ranking jump, title push or specific change in preparation cannot be inferred from the fight record alone; each would require fresh reporting or an official booking. For now, the result against Ofli remains a documented win in a career that has included both sharp rebounds and setbacks.
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Tags: MMA
