Four newcomers stepped under the bright lights at UFC Baku and left with mixed report cards, as the debuting class combined to go 2-2 at Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan, on June 27, 2026.
Welterweight Farman Hasanov, a 30-year-old prospect from Azerbaijan who was signed on May 11 as a 5-0 fighter, drew major attention in his bout with Eric Nolan after being officially credited with 17 takedowns. Despite the relentless wrestling output, Hasanov’s overall effort was graded a C-.
Theodor Berggren had the toughest night of the rookie group. He suffered a second-round referee stoppage loss to Daniil Donchenko and was handed the lowest mark of the bunch, receiving a D for his debut.
In the prelim opener, Tahir Abdullayev took on Jefferson Nascimento in a matchup that saw Nascimento described as fighting up a weight class for his first UFC appearance. Abdullayev won by TKO in the final round in a stoppage described as early, and both fighters were ultimately graded a D for their performances.
All told, the four debutants split their results at UFC Baku, with two earning victories but none escaping the grading scale with higher than a C-.
