Akbar Abdullaev will step into Dana White's Contender Series on September 16 against Edmilson de Jose Barros, with a UFC contract now within reach if he wins. It is the clearest next step in a run that has kept him unbeaten through 13 fights.
That is why his name is being searched now. Abdullaev, who most recently stopped Ibrahim Dauev with a technical knockout in the third round in September 2025 on ONE on Prime Video 35, brings 13 wins and no losses into a bout that could change his career in one night. Barros comes in with 14 wins, seven losses and one draw, but the real prize for Abdullaev is not just another result — it is the chance to turn a strong record into a contract with UFC.
The push to get him to DWCS also explains why this fight happened instead of a December date elsewhere. Open FC wanted Abdullaev to fight for them in December, but his managers asked to release him to DWCS, a move that shows where they believe the faster route lies. In other words, they chose the door that leads directly toward UFC rather than the one that would have delayed the climb.
Alexander Guryanov has been blunt about what he sees. He said he expects both Abdullaev and Usman Nurmagomedov to debut in UFC, and called Abdullaev someone who could move quickly among the promotion's best lightweights. He also pointed to Abdullaev's 13 bouts and his performance bonuses in ONE as proof that this is not a prospect being rushed, but a fighter already used to delivering when the stakes are high.
Abdullaev and Nurmagomedov represent Gorilla Fighting, and Guryanov tied that background to a simple expectation: if Abdullaev handles DWCS, his path to UFC can open fast. The unanswered piece is not whether the opportunity is real, but whether he turns it into the contract that would make September 16 the night the climb became official.
