Nursulton Ruziboev secured a first-round technical submission victory over Andrey Pulyaev at UFC Fight Night 280 on Saturday.
The middleweight bout took place at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Ruziboev forced Pulyaev unconscious with a short choke at 3:58 of Round 1.
The win marked his 50th professional mixed martial arts fight and his 26th career first-round finish.
The fight began with Ruziboev taking the center of the cage. He caught a body kick from Pulyaev and executed a takedown.
Although Pulyaev returned to his feet against the fence, Ruziboev maintained a body lock, dragged him back down, and locked in both hooks to establish back control.
After the bout, Ruziboev expressed his desire to face top-tier competition in the middleweight division during his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping.
"I'm 5-0 in the middleweight division," Ruziboev said. "I'm ready for anybody.
I want people from the rankings. I want people from the top of the rankings."
The victory improves Ruziboev's professional record to 37-9-2 and 5-1 within the UFC. Pulyaev drops to 10-5 overall and 1-3 inside the octagon.
