Mike Bohn, MMA JunkieSun, November 23, 2025 at 5:10 PM UTC·5 min readThe UFC's debut event in Qatar was one to remember with UFC Fight Night 265 at AHBA Arena in Doha delivering nine finishes out of 14 fights.
There was arguably no result with more significant divisional implications than Arman Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who returned from a 19-month layoff to submit Dan Hooker (24-13 MMA, 14-9 UFC) in the second round and make his case for a shot at lightweight champion Ilia Topuria.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFor more on the numbers to come out of the card, check below for MMA Junkie's post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 265.
Events stats
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $226,500.
Debuting fighters went 3-3 at the event.
Tsarukyan, Waldo Cortes Acosta, Kyoji Horiguchi and Luke Riley earned $50,000 UFC Fight Night 265 fight-night bonuses.
The UFC did not announce a live gate or attendance figure for UFC Fight Night 265.
Betting favorites went 12-2 on the card.
Betting favorites improved to 23-15 (with one no contest and one even odds) in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 14-bout card was 1:42:21.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementArman Tsarukyan def. Dan Hooker
Tsarukyan's five-fight UFC winning streak at lightweight is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Paddy Pimblett (seven).
Tsarukyan has earned 15 of his 23 career victories by stoppage.
Tsarukyan earned his first submission victory since Aug. 8, 2017 – a span of 3,028 days and 16 fights.
Hooker fell to 3-1 since he returned to the lightweight division in November 2022.
Ian Machado Garry def. Belal Muhammad
Ian Machado Garry's (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) 10 victories since 2021 in UFC competition are tied for second-most in the company behind Brendan Allen (11).
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBelal Muhammad (24-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career. He hasn't earned a victory since July 2024.
Muhammad has suffered four of his five career losses by decision.
Volkan Oezdemir def. Alonzo Menifield
Volkan Oezdemir (21-8 MMA, 9-7 UFC) has earned 16 of his 21 career victories by stoppage.
Oezdemir has earned 14 of his 16 career stoppage victories by knockout.
Alonzo Menifield (17-6-1 MMA, 10-6-1 UFC) has suffered all four of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Myktybek Orolbai def. Jack Hermansson
Myktybek Orolbai (15-2-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has earned 13 of his 15 career victories by stoppage.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJack Hermansson (24-10 MMA, 11-8 UFC) was unsuccessful in his welterweight debut.
Hermansson has suffered six of his eight UFC losses by stoppage.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Shamil Gaziev
Cortes-Acosta (16-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) earned his second UFC victory in a 21-day stretch.
Cortes-Acosta became the first fighter to earn four UFC victories in 2025.
Cortes-Acosta has earned 10 of his 16 career victories by stoppage.
Shamil Gaziev (14-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by knockout.
Kyoji Horiguchi def. Tagir Ulanbekov
Horiguchi (35-5 MMA, 8-1 UFC) was successful in his return to the UFC for a second stint.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHoriguchi's four-fight UFC winning streak at flyweight is tied for the third-longest active streak in the division behind Alexandre Pantoja (eight) and Joshua Van (five).
Tagir Ulanbekov (18-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) suffered the first stoppage loss of his career with a technical submission defeat.
Luke Riley def. Bodgan Grad
Riley (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has all nine of his career stoppage victories by knockout.
Bogdan Grad (15-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered two of his four career losses by stoppage.
Grad has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Nicolas Dalby def. Saygid Izagakhmaev
Nicolas Dalby (24-6-1 MMA, 8-5-1 UFC) improved to 7-3 with one no contest since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September 2019.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDalby has earned seven of his eight UFC victories by decision.
Saygid Izagakhmaev (22-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has suffered two of his three career losses by decision.
Asu Almabayev def. Alex Perez
Asu Almabayev's (23-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) six victories since 2023 in UFC flyweight competition are tied for second-most in the division behind Joshua Van (eight).
Almabayev has earned both of his UFC stoppage victories by submission.
Alex Perez (24-10 MMA, 6-6 UFC) has suffered five of his six UFC losses by stoppage.
Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev vs. Rafael Cerqueira
Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned seven of his eight career victories by stoppage.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementYakhyaev's 33-second victory marked the fastest submission in modern UFC light heavyweight history.
Yakhyaev's 33-second victory marked the third-fastest debut win in modern UFC light heavyweight history. Ryan Jimmo holds the record with a seven-second win at UFC 149.
Rafael Cerqueira (11-4 MMA, 0-4 UFC) has suffered four consecutive losses after starting his career 11-0.
Cerqueira has suffered three of his four career losses by stoppage.
Cerqueira has suffered all three of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Aleksandre Topuria def. Bekzat Almakhan
Aleksandre Topuria (7-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned both of his UFC victories by decision.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIsmail Naurdiev def. Ryan Loder
Ismail Naurdiev (25-8 MMA, 4-3 UFC) improved to 2-1 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September 2024.
Ryan Loder (7-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered two of his three career losses by stoppage.
Loder has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Nurullo Aliev def. Shem Rock
Nurullo Aliev (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has earned all three of his UFC victories by decision.
Shem Rock (12-2-1 MMA, 0-1 uFC) suffered the first decision loss so his career.
Denzel Freeman def. Marek Bujlo
Marek Bujlo (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had is six-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on X @MJCflipdascript.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Qatar post-event facts: Belal Muhammad hits new low
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