Arslanbek Makhmudov lost to Tyson Fury by unanimous decision on , a result Heavyweight Boxing (specialist boxing site) records. The sources agree on that result but disagree on his age and the size of the bear in his viral video, and they leave the nature of the clip unsettled.
Record: 21-3 (19 KOs), per Tapology (fight-record database) · Age: 36, per ITV News (UK broadcaster) · Weight class: Heavyweight, per Sky Sports (UK broadcaster) · Next confirmed fight: None listed, per Heavyweight Boxing (specialist boxing site)
Quick snapshot
- Fury won by unanimous decision over 12 rounds on (Heavyweight Boxing (specialist boxing site))
- Scorecards: 120–108, 120–108 and 119–109 (Yahoo Sports (sports news desk))
- Post-fight record listed as 21-3 (19 KOs) (Tapology (fight-record database))
- Age: 36 per ITV News (UK broadcaster), though some listings show 37
- Bear size: over three metres and 800 lb according to The Ring (boxing magazine), versus 10 ft and about 600 lb in The Telegraph via AOL (syndicated newspaper)
- Kabayel stopped him by TKO in round 4 on 23 December 2023, according to Wikipedia (crowd-edited reference)
- Makhmudov posted the bear footage to Instagram on (ABC News (AP wire))
- Vianello stopped him by TKO in round 8 on 17 August 2024 after damage to his eye (Sky Sports (UK broadcaster))
- No next fight listed as of Heavyweight Boxing’s latest listing, with the date marked TBA (Heavyweight Boxing (specialist boxing site))
- Fury has outlined a plan for three fights in 2026, according to ITV News (UK broadcaster)
Six facts anchor this profile, one pattern: the fight results agree across outlets, while the age and bear details do not.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Record | 21-3 (19 KOs) after the Fury bout (Tapology (fight-record database)) |
| Age | 36 per ITV News (UK broadcaster); some listings show 37 |
| Weight class | Heavyweight (Sky Sports (UK broadcaster)) |
| Origin | Born in Mozdok, Russia; Dagestan cited as home region (Wikipedia (fight card article)) |
| Current base | Canada, Montreal/Quebec area (Wikipedia (fight card article)) |
| Last fight | Lost to Tyson Fury by unanimous decision, (Heavyweight Boxing (specialist boxing site)) |
| Next confirmed fight | None listed (Heavyweight Boxing (specialist boxing site)) |
Is Arslanbek Makhmudov good?
The record is the first thing to check, and the sources do not agree on it. ESPN (national sports network) reported 21-2 (19 KOs) before the Fury fight, while Tapology (fight-record database) lists 21-3 (19 KOs) afterward.
What the record shows
- According to Wikipedia (crowd-edited reference), his professional record stands at 24 fights, 21 wins, 3 losses and 19 wins by knockout.
- Agit Kabayel stopped him by TKO in round 4 on in Riyadh (Wikipedia (crowd-edited reference)).
- According to Sky Sports (UK broadcaster), he had 13 first-round knockout wins at the time of its January 2026 preview.
Three losses in 28 months, two of them by stoppage, is the detail a 19-knockout total hides. A record alone does not measure ability, so this article does not rate him beyond the data above. The “flaws” comment that some coverage attributes to him is not in the text we reviewed, so we leave it out.
Nineteen knockouts show finishing power. Two stoppage losses show where opponents found openings, and the record alone cannot tell you which matters more.
The implication: the record supports a credible heavyweight with power, and it does not support a ranking above the data cited here.
Where is Makhmudov Boxer from?
The origin details come from Wikipedia’s fight card article for his bout with Fury. It gives Mozdok, Russia, as his birthplace, cites Dagestan as his home region and places his base in Canada’s Montreal and Quebec area.
The surname alone does not settle nationality, and this article does not infer it.
Where the record places his roots
- Born in Mozdok, Russia, according to Wikipedia (fight card article).
- Dagestan is cited there as his home region, not as his birthplace (Wikipedia (fight card article)).
Where he lives now
- Based in Canada, in the Montreal/Quebec area, according to Wikipedia (fight card article).
- Quebec City hosted his bouts against Ricardo Brown and Guido Vianello (Wikipedia (crowd-edited reference)).
The trade-off: a Canadian base tells you where he has fought recently, not where he was born, and the two facts should not be merged.
Who is Arslanbek Makhmudov fighting next?
He is not fighting next, at least not on any listing we could check. His most recent bout was the loss to Tyson Fury, so any coverage that describes him as still targeting Fury is out of date (Heavyweight Boxing (specialist boxing site)).
Status of the Fury bout
- Fury won by unanimous decision over 12 rounds at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London (Heavyweight Boxing (specialist boxing site)).
- The scorecards read 120–108, 120–108 and 119–109 in Fury’s favour (Yahoo Sports (sports news desk)).
No confirmed next fight
- Heavyweight Boxing lists no next fight, with the date marked TBA (Heavyweight Boxing (specialist boxing site)).
- Fury has outlined a plan for three fights in 2026, according to ITV News (UK broadcaster).
The implication: any date for a Makhmudov fight needs a dated listing, and none is in our research.
Did Arslanbek Makhmudov fight a bear?
He wrestled a bear on camera and posted the footage himself, but the sources disagree on the setting, the animal’s size and whether the encounter was a contest. ABC News (AP wire) reports the Instagram post came on .
The Ring (boxing magazine) reports that a friend called with an offer to fight a bear, and that he accepted.
What the viral video shows
- Makhmudov posted the footage to Instagram on and said his goal was to overcome fear (ABC News (AP wire)).
- The Independent described the encounter as Dagestani “typical antics” (The Independent (UK newspaper)).
- According to The Telegraph via AOL (syndicated newspaper), the footage was shot in a forest near Moscow.
What remains unverified
- Bear size: according to The Ring (boxing magazine), the bear was over three metres tall and weighed more than 800 lb, while AOL (Telegraph syndication) gives 10 ft and about 600 lb.
- Filming date: according to SportBible (sports news site), the footage was filmed in August 2025, before his title fight against David Allen.
- Whether the clip is a real contest or staged content: no primary video source was supplied, and SportBible (sports news site) notes the video was shared by Makhmudov himself rather than by an independent verified source.
The two size reports agree on height, close to three metres, but split on weight: 800 lb against 600 lb. A viral clip cannot settle that gap on its own.
The catch: the footage proves a video exists, not what kind of encounter it captured, and the research does not settle that question.
What is the origin of the surname Makhmudov?
The ending “-ov” is a common suffix in Russian surnames. No reference source in our research traces the Makhmudov name to a particular family or lineage, so we cannot say where this surname came from.
The -ov suffix in Russian surnames
- The ending is common in Russian surnames. This is general usage, and our research does not source it.
- Nothing in our research connects the name to a specific family line.
Link to the given name Mahmud
- Our research plan links the surname to the given name Mahmud, which it describes as Arabic in origin.
- No reference source in our research confirms that link, so it stays open.
The trade-off: a confident etymology reads better than a sourced one, so readers should treat the surname link as an open question.
Timeline signal
- : Agit Kabayel beats Makhmudov by TKO in round 4 in Riyadh (Wikipedia (crowd-edited reference))
- : Guido Vianello wins by TKO in round 8 in Quebec City, and a doctor stops the fight over damage to Makhmudov’s eye (Sky Sports (UK broadcaster))
- : Makhmudov wins a unanimous decision over David Allen at Sheffield Arena (Wikipedia (crowd-edited reference))
- : Makhmudov posts the bear footage to Instagram (ABC News (AP wire))
- : Fury wins by unanimous decision over 12 rounds (Heavyweight Boxing (specialist boxing site))
The pattern: two of his three losses on this timeline ended by stoppage, and the bear footage went up seven weeks before the Fury fight.
What’s unclear
Four claims can be repeated with a source attached. Seven cannot yet.
Confirmed facts
- Fury won by unanimous decision on (Heavyweight Boxing (specialist boxing site))
- Kabayel stopped Makhmudov by TKO in round 4 (Wikipedia (crowd-edited reference))
- The bear footage went up on Instagram on (ABC News (AP wire))
- Makhmudov said the aim was to overcome fear (ITV News (UK broadcaster))
What’s unclear
- Age: 36 per ITV News (UK broadcaster), while some listings show 37
- Bear size: 800 lb or 600 lb, depending on The Ring (boxing magazine) or AOL (Telegraph syndication)
- Filming date: August 2025 per SportBible (sports news site), or the 2026 posting date
- Whether the clip shows a real contest or staged content
- Height, weight and religion: not in the research
- Any Ukraine connection: no source in the research
- The “flaws” wording: not in the text we reviewed
The catch: the confirmed list is short, and the unclear list holds the claims most readers will repeat.
In their words
“It was so scary. I was thinking to myself: ‘How can I wrestle with this bear.'”
Arslanbek Makhmudov, boxer, quoted by ESPN (national sports network)
“The goal was to overcome the threshold of fear and learn to control yourself in critical situations.”
Arslanbek Makhmudov, boxer, quoted by ITV News (UK broadcaster)
“I’ve never overlooked anybody in my life, and I’ll definitely not overlook this beast. He’s a scary dude.”
Tyson Fury, boxer, quoted by ITV News (UK broadcaster) before the fight
The implication: the fear language is Makhmudov’s own framing, so it tells readers how he describes the video, not how independent observers judged it.
For fans who share the bear clip, the choice is clear: label it as self-shared social footage with disputed details, or wait for a dated commission or promoter record before repeating its numbers. For anyone tracking Makhmudov’s career, the reliable core is narrow: a 21-3 (19 KOs) record, a loss to Tyson Fury on and no next fight listed. Readers can judge his career on those three facts without relying on the bear clip.
Frequently asked questions
Is Arslanbek Makhmudov a Muslim?
Our sources do not state his religion, so this article does not answer the question.
How tall is Arslanbek Makhmudov?
No verified height figure appears in our research, so we publish none.
How much does Arslanbek Makhmudov weigh?
Our research set contains no verified weight for him. The weight figures in our sources concern the bear, not Makhmudov.
Is Arslanbek Makhmudov’s record listed on BoxRec?
We did not find a BoxRec page in the research set. Tapology (fight-record database) lists his post-fight record as 21-3 (19 KOs).
Is Arslanbek Makhmudov connected to Ukraine?
Our sources contain no reference to a Ukraine connection, so we cannot confirm one.
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Edward Davies Bennett is Editor-in-Chief and Responsible Publisher at Insight Britain, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and the corrections process.