By the Numbers: Magomed Magomedkerimov

Magomed Magomedkerimov had never been knocked out in his 28-fight career. However, in the Professional Fighters League welterweight tournament finale, he was the underdog against the dreaded finisher Ray Cooper III, who previously defeated Jake Shields twice in mere months.

Sure, Magomedkerimov has an iron chin, but Cooper III was unlike anyone he had ever faced. In their recent encounter at the Hulu Theater inside Madison Square Garden, he endangered Cooper III twice. The first opportunity came via a rear-naked choke in the first round. Finally, in the second frame, he was able to sink in a guillotine choke that ended the tournament. With that upset, Magomedkerimov became one of PFL’s new millionaires. Get to know more about the newly-crowned Russian world champion through these numbers.

3: Straight fights that ended in the first round to start his professional career. Not all ended in his favor, though. Magomedkerimov defeated Vitaly Kalynyuk and Viktor Kuzmenko in regional promotions before losing to Taras Pihynuk.

4: Fights in ProFC. Magomedkerimov faced Pihynuk in the Russian promotion on Nov. 21, 2010. The following year, he joined the ProFC grand prix, winning his first bout and losing the second. After that, he fought for different promotions before getting signed by ProFC again where he lost to current One Championship middleweight Vitaly Bigdash.

8: Fight winning streak after the loss to Bigdash. Apart from the PFL, he had stints with World Series of Fighting, Kunlun Fight and Derbent Fighting Championship.

10: Wins by knockout. Most of these victories were in regional promotions while one occurred in ProFC. One of his most notable knockouts was his liver shot finish of Weguimar de Lucena Xavier at Fight Nights – Battle of Moscow 14.

7: Wins by submission. In addition to his first two victories, he tapped out Sergey Faustov, Khasankhon Baratov, German Yakumov, Herman Terrado and Cooper III.

2: Years in which he fought five times. Magomedkerimov is an active fighter who thrives in fighting several times each year. He accomplished this feat in 2014 and 2018.

0: Losses by KO. The Russian is known for having a strong chin. Nobody in his career has ever knocked him out. Not even Cooper III, who is considered one of the strongest punchers in his division.

5: Losses overall, three by submission and two by decision. Aside from Pihynuk and Bigdash, he suffered defeats to Bakhtiyar Abbasov, Adam Khaliev and Beslan Isaev.

12: First-round finishes. Magomedkerimov is known to end fights early as evidenced by this impressive stat.

15: Seconds was his fastest finish to date. This happened in an event called Absolute Championship Berkut – Grand Prix Berkut 2, where he forced a doctor stoppage of Islam Yashaev.

29: Years of age. Magomedkerimov was born on Jan. 10, 1990. The welterweight from Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia, trains out of Team Champion.