Murtazali Magomedov (10-0) will face Melsik Baghdasaryan (8-3) in his promotional debut on June 20, 2026 as first reported by MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin.

Murtazali Magomedov has his UFC debut set!
He is taking on Melsik Baghdasaryan on June 20th, per sources pic.twitter.com/FCXIKiqEzv

— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) April 29, 2026

Magomedov later confirmed the booking on social media.

Coming off a stellar performance on this past season’s edition of Dana White’s Contender Series, Murtazali Magomedov enters the promotion with all ten of his victories coming by finish. Fighting out of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, the undefeated 26-year-old previously held the Octagon League featherweight title before earning his opportunity to fight in front of the UFC brass. Now, he’ll chase another title on the biggest stage in the world, but first, he takes on Melsik “The Gun” Baghdasaryan.

Baghdasaryan has had an up-and-down start to his UFC career, holding a 3-2 record inside the Octagon. Injuries and inactivity have limited the 34-year-old to just five fights since earning a contract back in 2020. Most recently, Baghdasaryan entered the cage in February 2025 against surging contender Jean Silva at UFC Seattle, where he suffered a viral first-round knockout loss. “The Gun” will look to return to the win column in this matchup and spoil the debut of the intriguing Murtazali Magomedov.

The two will go head-to-head at the UFC Apex on June 20, adding to a loaded UFC Vegas 119 card. The event is headlined by the rematch between Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi and also features the return of undefeated prospects André Lima and Navajo Stirling.

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Rafael Tobias vs Jair de Oliveira

Round 1 – Both men looking for the kicks early. Tobias with the push kicks for distance and Oliveira looking for the leg kicks to soften him up. Oliveira lunges in looking for a strike and is countered with a right. It wobbles him and he clinches to gain his wits. They start throwing again and he’s tagged after throwing another naked leg kick. Tobias looks to finish, but Oliveira hangs in there and gets a reset. They throw with Oliveira finding some success, but then he gets countered and has quite a bit of trouble with it. Tobias finds the distance and is immediately on a double and goes right to the back. It doesn’t take long and he finds a rear naked choke with little resistance.

Official Result: Rafael Tobias def. Jair de Oliveira by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) – Round 1 (3:46)

Javier Reyes vs Justice Torres

Round 1 – Reyes comes out swinging that right hand and getting Torres to back up. Torres looking to feint his way into the clinch, but Reyes with the right hand again. Torres does get into that clinch and hits a big takedown, but Reyes is right back up with no damage. Reyes clearly gains some confidence following that exchange and again moves forward. He unleashes with some big straights. He lands to the body and hurts Torres. Reyes with knees in the clinch and Torres drops against the cage. Reyes throws a slew of rights until Frank Trigg steps in to call it off.

Official Result: Javier Reyes def. Justice Torres by TKO (Knees and Punches) – Round 1 (2:32)

Sofia Montenegro vs Jeisla Chaves

Round 1 – It’s Chaves who comes out and lands the first couple of strikes, but Montenegro gets busy right after. She lands a straight down the middle that whips Chaves’ head back. She lands a couple more like it that hads Chaves bleeding. Chaves gets a hook in there that opens up Montenegro on the side of their head too. Montenegro gets on her horse and stays right in Chaves’ face – lots of big landing. Chaves recovers and works her way back into the fight with some body shots and a couple up top. They are both gushing blood with 90 seconds left. Chaves seems to get the better of the exchanges late, which prompts a takedown attempt from Montenegro late. She fails and then end the round with a clinch against the cage. Montenegro 10-9

Round 2 – Montenegro comes out with three straight right hands and all of them seem to land. The last of them drops Chaves and Montenegro looks for a finish with hammerfists. She gets about a dozen warnings for hitting the back of the head. Not to be outdone, Chaves lands an illegal upkick that garners a brief warning as well. Montenegro settles into top control and looks to land some elbows. Montenegro moves to mount, but Chaves uses the cage to create a scramble. She eats a knee on the way up, but does make it back to her feet. They stay clinched against the cage for nearly the rest of the round (with a quick head and arm throw attempt from Chaves). They break with a dozen seconds left and Chaves stuns Montenegro with a 1-2 at the bell. Montenegro 10-9

Round 3 – Chaves the much fresher fighter here in the third. She starts putting the same 1-2 that she landed with late in the second together. She gets a step in elbow to land as well. Montenegro landing a few here and there, but they have nowhere near the impact. With half the round remaining, Montenegro has had enough of eating punches and hits an inside trip to guard. Montenegro grabbing a can opener, but not landing much for the guard. She hears the referee call for action and thinks it’s a stand up and backs up. Chaves, on the reset, lands a slew of more big shots. Montenegro looks for another takedown, but can’t find it. Chaves came on late, but I’m not sure it’ll be enough. Chaves 10-9

Official Result: Jeisla Chaves def. Sofia Montenegro by Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Brahyan Zurcher vs Murtazali Magomedov

Round 1 – The two of them feel each other out a little bit, but Magomedov seems to be finding the range a bit better. He lands a stuff jab that drop Zurcher to the surprise of everyone. He lands some subsequent left hands – a right and an uppercut – and it’s all over.

Official Result: Murtazali Magomedov def. Brahyan Zurcher by TKO (Punches) – Round 1 (1:37)

Đani Barbir vs Mantas Kondratavičius

Round 1 – Barbir comes out swinging and lands a right and and a glancing head kick. Kondratavičius runs into the clinch and looks for a takedown. He gets him down, but is immediately reversed with Barbir coming out on top. They clinch for a bit and then reset. Kondratavičius backs Barbir up and lands a clean right hand and it’s all over!

Official Result: Mantas Kondratavičius def. Đani Barbir by TKO (Punch) – Round 1 (1:06)

DWCS Contract Winners:

• Rafael Tobias
• Javier Reyes
• Sofia Montenegro
• Jeisla Chaves
• Murtazali Magomedov
• Mantas Kondratavičius

And for more Dana White’s Contender Series coverage, check out all of the work here on Cageside Press. We have interviews with the fighters as well as analysis of those getting a chance on Tuesday.

The post Dana White’s Contender Series 2025: Week 7 – Play-by-Play & Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

We’ve got this week’s breakdown and predictions ready to go! Read on ahead of Tuesday night’s Episode 7.

Light heavyweight, Rafael Tobias (13-1) vs. Jair de Oliveira (6-0)

Notable Notes

• Oliveira would be the shortest 205er in the UFC if he was to be signed.
• Both have wins by KO/TKO, submission, and decision
• Both have a combined 13 first-round finishes
• Oliveira is moving down to 205
• Oliveira doesn’t have a win over someone with a winning record nor below 30
• Oliveira has five finishes all in round one
• Tobias will be five inches taller
• Both guys you’ve probably seen fighting at your local grocery store

Rafael Tobias

Another questionable selection from the matchmakers, Rafael Tobias comes in with a shiny 13-1 record at just 22 years old—but the résumé doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Most of his fights have been in small Brazilian promotions with little accessible tape, and the one time he stepped up in competition, at LFA, he was knocked out in the second round by what I’d call a proven but low-level fighter. He’s never been successful in a cage I rate at all, and that’s concerning when having thirteen wins.

On the feet, Tobias is messy. He throws with decent volume and carries good power, but his technique is sloppy and his defense is a major liability. His head doesn’t move, he overextends on strikes, and he’s already been knocked out once.

He’s billed as a grappler, but his actual level is unclear. Most of his takedowns come from body-lock trips in the clinch, and his wrestling doesn’t look strong enough to consistently bring fights to the mat. Even when he does, his grappling has shown holes—he’s been swept by lesser opponents, and many of the submissions he’s picked up have come against fighters who shouldn’t have been getting caught in the first place.

Jair de Oliveira

Matchmakers should be ashamed when bringing in guys like this. They just look at his record and say, “Sure, why not?”. They don’t look into their fights, nor do they do any legwork at all. Very lazy at times, and it shows. Oliveira is a 5’9″ 205er that’s fought at heavyweight. He’s decently athletic but is punching up at the sky to connect. The best guy he’s beaten is a 5’7″ 37-year-old. They are really grasping for straws when it comes to middleweight and up, but it should be important to know that giving undeserved guys like this is only gonna hurt your product in the future rather than help it.

Prediction: Going into a Tobias fight, I figured whoever he’s fighting could have a chance. He SHOULD run through Oliveira. With how flawed Tobias is, he’s at least in the right weight class and has potential to be halfway decent in the future. He does have a chance to get caught if he strikes, but has a wide open path if he wrestles—bigger, stronger, and more technique. Tobias should win by submission in round one, and other than that, it’s a loss for Tobias. Either way, it’s not much of a win.

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