The UFC holds an event in Saudi Arabia on December 5. In the ANB Arena in Al-Rayyan, the UFC has booked a fight between Mahammadali Osmanli and Pavel Andrusca. The fighters will meet in the bantamweight division.

Multiple sources have confirmed the booking to Heavy.com after an initial report by MMA Junkie. Osmanli lost his first fight in the UFC earlier this year by disqualification against Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu. His opponent, Andrusca, won his short-notice debut against Nathaniel Wood and became ranked in the UFC Meta rankings at featherweight right away.

A Second Chance

The 22-year-old Mahammadali Osmanli was one of the most skilled and charismatic standouts on The Ultimate Fighter 34. Having competed primarily in his home country early in his career, Osmanli captured both the flyweight and bantamweight titles for the Next Generation Fighting promotion. With an 8-1 record, he signed with UAE Warriors in 2024, where he went on a 3-0 run. During his time with the promotion, he heavily impressed fans by handing first-career defeats to formerly unbeaten prospects Shamil Boraev and Bakhtovar Yunusov. After entering the tryouts, Osmanli was selected to compete on The Ultimate Fighter 34.

He was drafted as the second bantamweight pick for Team Bisping. Osmanli went to the finale after beating Artem Belakh and Christian Strong via a rare buggy choke submission. The fighter from Azerbaijan went into the finale against Akylbek as the favorite. Unfortunately, he landed an illegal knee, which resulted in a disqualification. Osmanli accused Akylbek afterwards of faking an injury. He now takes on Pavel Andrusca in his sophomore fight in the UFC.

Immediate Impact

The undefeated Andrusca made a direct impact in the UFC. The 24-year-old Moldovan fighter launched his professional MMA career in 2021, securing victories in his first two bouts. Following a two-year hiatus through 2022 and 2023, he made a successful comeback in 2024 by defeating Balabek Abbas. This victory paved the way for him to sign with the Austrian promotion Vendetta Fight Nights (VFN). In his promotional debut, he immediately challenged Ahmet Şimşek for the championship, capturing his first professional MMA title with a dominant first-round TKO victory.

In 2025, he successfully defended his title twice before signing with UAE Warriors. In an impressive promotional debut, he secured a first-round knockout victory over Road to UFC runner-up Daermisi Zhawupasi. Continuing his dominant streak earlier this year, his fight also ended in a swift first-round knockout against Gexipengchu. With an undefeated 8-0 record with seven finishes, he made his short-notice UFC debut earlier this year against Nathaniel Wood. Andrusca impressed and won after three rounds by unanimous decision. This skyrocketed him into the UFC Meta featherweight rankings. Andrusca now goes back to his normal weight class of bantamweight.