Azerbaijani mixed martial artist Mehemmedeli Osmanli has officially been listed as an active UFC fighter.
As reported by İdman.Biz, a profile page for the 22-year-old has appeared on the official website of the world's leading MMA promotion. Osmanli is listed in the bantamweight division with his status marked as "Active", while September 26, 2026, is given as the date of his Octagon debut.
On that day, the Azerbaijani will face Kyrgyzstan's Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu at UFC Fight Night: Rosas Jr. vs Barcelos at Meta APEX in Las Vegas. The bout is already included on the UFC's official fight card. This means Osmanli can be considered a UFC fighter even before competing in the final of The Ultimate Fighter 34.
There is, however, an important distinction related to the format of The Ultimate Fighter. TUF is a UFC reality competition in which promising fighters live and train together, represent teams led by prominent MMA figures and compete in an elimination tournament. The winner's main prize is a UFC contract. This season, the men's and women's finalists are competing for six-figure deals with the promotion.
This means Osmanli's current status on the official UFC roster and the contract awarded to the TUF winner are not exactly the same thing. The Azerbaijani is already registered by the promotion as an active fighter and has been given an official UFC bout, but on September 26 he will still compete for The Ultimate Fighter's main prize - a lucrative six-figure contract.
Osmanli reached the bantamweight final after earning two victories on the show. He first submitted Kazakhstan representative Artem Belakh with a rear-naked choke in the opening round. In the semi-final, the Azerbaijani faced American Christian Strong and finished him in the second round with a rare buggy choke to book his place in the final.
The 12th and final episode of The Ultimate Fighter 34, featuring Osmanli's bout with Strong, aired on August 25. The season finale itself will be held separately as part of a full UFC event on September 26.
Osmanli will face his Team Michael Bisping teammate Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu. The Kyrgyz fighter has also already been added to the UFC's active roster, with September 26 listed as the date of his Octagon debut.
Importantly, losing a The Ultimate Fighter final does not automatically mean leaving the UFC. Recent seasons have shown that the promotion frequently retains losing finalists on its roster and gives them further fights.
One notable example is Australian fighter of Turkish origin Kaan Ofli. In August 2024, he reached the final of The Ultimate Fighter 32 but suffered a second-round knockout defeat to Mairon Santos. Despite losing the final, Ofli subsequently signed with the UFC.
Ofli continued competing in the promotion and has already had several UFC fights. In particular, on June 27 this year, he competed at the UFC event in Baku, where he defeated Javier Reyes by first-round arm-triangle choke. Ofli remains an active UFC fighter.
Another example from TUF 32 is Switzerland's Robert Valentin. He lost to Ryan Loder in the middleweight final but remained with the UFC. Valentin subsequently continued his career in the promotion and recorded two consecutive victories in 2026.
A similar situation occurred with Brazilian Rodrigo Sezinando. He lost to Ukraine's Daniil Donchenko in the final of The Ultimate Fighter 33 in 2025, but the UFC kept him on its roster.
Therefore, even if Osmanli loses to Akylbek Uulu on September 26, he will not automatically be removed from the UFC. The promotion will decide his future, while recent examples show that losing TUF finalists can still be given the opportunity to continue competing in the Octagon.
With Osmanli's addition to the active roster, the number of Azerbaijani fighters in the UFC has reached six. He joins Rafael Fiziev, Nazim Sadykhov, Tofiq Musayev, Farman Hasanov and Tahir Abdullayev.
