Islam Dulatov's next fight and Levan Chokheli's next fight may be the same one. According to Georgian outlet Crystalsport, citing MMA Connected, the two welterweights are booked to meet in Saudi Arabia on December 5. The UFC has not announced the bout, so for now it is a report and not a confirmed fight.
Dulatov vs Chokheli: the reported booking
Crystalsport published the story on October 21 and says MMA Connected is citing its own sources. The date matches UFC Fight Night 295 at the anb Arena in Riyadh, headlined by Israel Adesanya against Sharabutdin Magomedov.
One part is on the record. Chokheli wrote on social media that he had signed a contract and will fight in Saudi Arabia on December 5, according to Crystalsport. He did not name an opponent, so the Dulatov match-up rests on the MMA Connected report alone. Dulatov, for his part, posted in an Instagram story that "we have a fight" and that fans would see him soon, as reported by Sports.kz, without naming an opponent or a date. The UFC's event page on Wikipedia does not list the bout yet.
Islam Dulatov: record and the cancelled Turman fight
Dulatov, nicknamed The Ripper, is 28 and fights out of Germany. His record is 12-1, and according to our database all 12 wins came by finish: eight by knockout or TKO and four by submission. The single loss came on his debut.
He earned his UFC contract with a first-round knockout of Vanilto Antunes on Dana White's Contender Series in October 2024. His UFC debut followed at UFC 318 on July 19, 2025, where he knocked out Adam Fugitt in round one.
He has not fought since. His next booking, against Wellington Turman at UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25, 2026, was cancelled before the event, with illness cited as the reason. If the Chokheli fight goes ahead, it would be Dulatov's first appearance in nearly 17 months.
Levan Chokheli: record and the 23-second UFC debut
Chokheli is a 30-year-old Georgian welterweight with a record of 15-3 and one no contest. Twelve of his wins came by knockout or TKO and three by decision.
He made his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Horiguchi on June 20, 2026, and stopped Leon Shahbazyan with a first-round TKO in 23 seconds. Before that, his last fight was a first-round knockout loss to Lorenz Larkin at Bellator Champions Series 4 in September 2024. He had won his two Bellator fights before that, knocking out Sabah Homasi at Bellator 299 and beating Michael Lombardo by decision at Bellator 294.
How the fight matches up
On paper this is two finishers. Dulatov has never won a fight on the scorecards, and Chokheli's last two wins, over Homasi and Shahbazyan, both ended in the first round. His most recent decision win in our records came against Lombardo in 2023.
Both are welterweights, and nothing reported so far suggests a catchweight. Dulatov brings more variety, with four submission wins next to his knockouts, while Chokheli's record is built on striking. The gap in activity matters too: Chokheli fought in June, while Dulatov would return after a long layoff and a withdrawn fight.
UFC Riyadh on December 5: the card so far
UFC Fight Night 295 is set for Saturday, December 5, at the anb Arena in Riyadh. The bouts listed so far are:
- Israel Adesanya vs Sharabutdin Magomedov, middleweight, main event
- Abdul Hussein vs Hecher Sosa, bantamweight
- Matthieu Letho Duclos vs Modestino Rodrigues, middleweight
Dulatov vs Chokheli would be a welterweight addition if the UFC makes it official. We will update our fighter pages once the promotion confirms the bout.
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This article was generated with AI and may contain errors.