Tofiq Musayev (born December 15, 1989) is an Azerbaijani professional mixed martial artist, competing in the Lightweight division.
[2] Initially having success at the regional level, Musaev decided to devote himself completely to sanda, therefore, after graduating from school in 2007, he entered the sports academy.
[3][4][5][6][7] Since MMA was something new in Azerbaijan, and there were no well-trained fighters for sparring and training, Tofiq experienced certain difficulties getting used to the new format fights.
[1] Also, he did not forget about the Motherland, where little by little, MMA tournaments began to gain popularity among the audience and his talent blossomed when he refined his fighting style, which is based on his strong punches .
[9] He was scheduled to face 13-fight UFC veteran and TUF: Live Team Faber contestant Daron Cruickshank at Rizin 16.
On September 20, 2019, Tofiq was drawn against former XFC & Brace Lightweight champion and 6-fight UFC veteran Damien Brown at Rizin 19 as the quarterfinal match.
An exciting back-and-forth battle ended in a unanimous decision victory for the underdog Musaev (despite breaking his hand in the second round),[15] and the Lightweight Grand Prix belt.
[18][19][20] After his Grand Prix triumph, Musayev was approached by the UFC, but declined an offer as he waited for RIZIN to make a proposal.
Fellow RIZIN lightweight, Roberto de Souza stated ahead of RIZIN.27 that the promotion should crown a new champion if Musayev cannot return.
[33] Musayev was instead rebooked against Sidney Outlaw, after his opponent pulled out of their bout, and won the match via knockout 27 seconds into the first round.
[34] On January 11, 2023, Musayev was announced as one of the 8 participants in the $1 million Lightweight Grand Prix, with his quarterfinal bout against Alexandr Shabliy taking place on March 10, 2023, at Bellator 292.
[36] Musayev returned to face Akira Okada at the co-promotion event Bellator MMA x Rizin 2 on July 30, 2023.