{"id":39709,"date":"2026-01-28T16:45:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T21:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/01\/28\/undefeated-ex-ufc-fighter-5-0-aims-for-comeback-im-ready-to-return\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T16:45:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T21:45:59","slug":"undefeated-ex-ufc-fighter-5-0-aims-for-comeback-im-ready-to-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/01\/28\/undefeated-ex-ufc-fighter-5-0-aims-for-comeback-im-ready-to-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Undefeated Ex-UFC Fighter (5-0) Aims for Comeback: &#8220;I&#8217;m Ready to Return&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/01\/28\/undefeated-ex-ufc-fighter-5-0-aims-for-comeback-im-ready-to-return\/#Zhumagulovs_Journey_and_Title_Reign_Outside_the_UFC\" >Zhumagulov\u2019s Journey and Title Reign Outside the UFC<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/01\/28\/undefeated-ex-ufc-fighter-5-0-aims-for-comeback-im-ready-to-return\/#Other_Former_UFC_Flyweights_Eyeing_a_Comeback\" >Other Former UFC Flyweights Eyeing a Comeback<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>European MMA Champion Appeals to Dana White for UFC Return<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Since parting ways with the UFC in 2023 without a contract renewal, Zharas Zhumagulov has been actively competing. The Kazakh fighter, a fan favorite, faced a challenging run inside the UFC Octagon, losing four fights in a row, including a split decision loss to Joshua Van in the final bout of his contract. While Van went on to defeat Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 323 and clinch the flyweight title, Zhumagulov has been making a name for himself on the European MMA scene by defending his championship.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cZaco,\u201d as he&#8217;s known, has impressively won five straight fights since leaving the UFC and is eager for a rematch with Van in 2026.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Zhumagulovs_Journey_and_Title_Reign_Outside_the_UFC\"><\/span>Zhumagulov\u2019s Journey and Title Reign Outside the UFC<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>At 37 years old, Zhumagulov has overcome significant obstacles following his UFC tenure. After a controversial loss to Charles Johnson in November 2022, he briefly retired but quickly made a comeback. Since leaving the UFC, he\u2019s remained undefeated, capturing and defending the 125-pound title in Octagon MMA\u2014an up-and-coming European promotion. His most recent victory came in December, where he successfully defended his belt via TKO (doctor stoppage) against former UFC fighter David Dvorak.<\/p>\n<p>Following this win, Zhumagulov expressed his desire to return to the UFC, tweeting: \u201cLast fight on contract, 2023. Split decision against current UFC champion. Champion, title defense, 5 straight wins since then. Ready to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_Former_UFC_Flyweights_Eyeing_a_Comeback\"><\/span>Other Former UFC Flyweights Eyeing a Comeback<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Zhumagulov\u2019s situation mirrors that of undefeated Muhamad Mokaev, who also left the UFC unexpectedly in 2024 after Dana White declined to renew his contract. Mokaev had been on track for a title shot prior to his departure, following a victory over Manel Kape. White cited Mokaev\u2019s perceived difficulty to work with as a factor in his release. Since then, the Dagestan-born fighter has aimed for a UFC return, even expressing willingness to drop down to bantamweight (135 pounds) to facilitate his comeback.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf (the UFC) sent me a contract, I would fight at bantamweight,\u201d Mokaev said last year. \u201cI have an age advantage, and by the time I get back into rankings, most contenders will be in their mid-30s.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Fan Take:<\/strong><br \/>\nZhumagulov\u2019s bid to return to the UFC highlights the competitive depth outside the promotion and how fighters can reinvent themselves to earn another shot on the biggest stage. For fight fans, his comeback\u2014and those like Mokaev\u2019s\u2014shows that talent and determination can create compelling storylines that extend the sport\u2019s excitement beyond the UFC\u2019s spotlight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>European MMA Champion Appeals to Dana White for UFC Return Since parting ways with the UFC in 2023 without a contract renewal, Zharas Zhumagulov has been actively competing. The Kazakh fighter, a fan favorite, faced a challenging run inside the UFC Octagon, losing four fights in a row, including a split decision loss to Joshua [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2443],"tags":[2444],"class_list":{"0":"post-39709","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fighting","8":"tag-fighting"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}