Chilean UFC fighter Ignacio Bahamondes has decided to change weight classes after suffering two consecutive defeats.
İdman.Biz reports that the 29-year-old has moved from lightweight to the welterweight division. He will make his debut in the new weight class on September 12 at the UFC event in Phoenix, where he will face Muslim Salikhov.
Bahamondes' last two fights came against representatives of Azerbaijan. In June 2025, at the first UFC event held in Baku, he lost to Rafael Fiziev by unanimous decision. In March 2026, the Chilean suffered another decision defeat, this time against Tofiq Musayev.
Bahamondes admitted that the decision to move up a division was made after his most recent fight. According to the Chilean, he had always been a large lightweight and cutting down to the 70.3 kg limit had become increasingly difficult.
His preparation for the bout against Musayev proved particularly demanding, as Bahamondes accepted the fight on just three weeks' notice. Following the difficult weight cut, the fighter and his team concluded that competing at welterweight would be the better option going forward.
As a result, the bout against Tofiq Musayev became Bahamondes' final appearance in the UFC lightweight division.
