Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC), commonly referred to as Eagle FC, is a Russian mixed martial arts promotion company established in 2020 by former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. It was renamed to Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC) after Nurmagomedov bought Gorilla Fighting Championship (GFC) for $1 million.
History In November 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov bought the Russian MMA promotion Gorilla Fighting Championship (formerly known as Federation of MMA of Samara), for $1 million and renamed it to Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC).
GFC had been in the industry since 2017 and was on the edge of bankruptcy. When Nurmagomedov retired, he acquired the promotion and became the promoter.
EFC held their first event in the USA on January 28, 2022 in Miami, Florida.
Weight divisions
Weight class nameUpper limitBefore 2022After 2022MMA ManiaStrawweight N/AFlyweightBantamweightFeatherweightLightweightSuper lightweight N/AESPNWelterweightMiddleweightLight heavyweight N/AHeavyweight
Events
Scheduled events Event Date Venue Location
Past events Event title Date Arena LocationEagle FC 55: Alkhasov vs. TorosyanNovember 9, 2024 Yakutsk, RussiaEagle FC 54: Yamilov vs. Mamedov November 11, 2023 Almetyevsk, RussiaEagle FC 53: Yaskovets vs. AbdurakovAugust 18, 2023 Yakutsk, RussiaEagle FC 52: Chergesov vs. TuyakovJune 17, 2023 Dagestan, Russia Eagle FC 51: Izmodenov vs. Mukhtarov December 10, 2022KSK ZhayykAtyrau, KazakhstanEagle FC 50: Nurgozhay vs. AndreitsevAugust 21, 2022Barys ArenaNur-Sultan, KazakhstanEagle FC 49: Busurmankul vs. MagomedovAugust 10, 2022Bishkek, KyrgyzstanEagle FC 48 & Naiza FC 41July 16, 2022Aktau, KazakhstanEagle FC 47: Dos Santos vs. De CastroMay 20, 2022FTX ArenaMiami, Florida, U.S.Eagle FC 46: Lee vs. SanchezMarch 11, 2022FTX ArenaMiami, Florida, U.S.Eagle FC 45: Busurmankul vs. MagomedovFebruary 18, 2022Crocus ExpoMoscow, RussiaEagle FC 44: Spong vs. KharitonovJanuary 28, 2022FTX ArenaMiami, Florida, U.S.EFC 43December 10, 2021Moscow, RussiaEFC 42October 17, 2021WOW ArenaSochi, RussiaEFC 41/AMC Fight NightsSeptember 17, 2021Crocus Expo ArenaMoscow, RussiaEFC 40 September 4, 2021Sport Complex JubileeAlmetyevsk, RussiaEFC 39 August 22, 2021Nizhny Novgorod, RussiaEFC 38 August 3, 2021Issyk Kul, KyrgyzstanEFC 37August 22, 2021Almaty ArenaAlmaty, Kazakhstan
Current champions ClassUpper weight limitChampionDateDefensesHeavyweight VacantLight heavyweight Diyar NurgozhayAugust 21, 20220Middleweight Dauren ErmekovDecember 25, 2019 2Welterweight VacantSuper lightweight VacantLightweight Ramin SultanovNovember 11, 20230 Featherweight Vacant Bantamweight Renat KhavalovMarch 19, 20213Flyweight Irgit Oveenchi August 10, 20220
Championship history
Heavyweight Championship 206 to 265 lb (93 to 120 kg)
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 Shamil AbasovMay 11, 20182 Rizvan KunievGFC 16August 30, 2019Kuniev vacated the title on December 6, 2022, when he signed with Professional Fighters League.
Light Heavyweight Championship 186 to 205 lb (84 to 93 kg)
No.NameEventDateDefensesCurrent Diyar NurgozhayEagle FC 50August 21, 2022
Middleweight Championship 175 to 185 lb (79 to 84 kg)
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 Rinat FakhretdinovGFC 11May 3, 2019Fakhretdinov vacated when he chose to test free agency. 2 Faridun OdilovEFC 33February 9, 2021– Dauren Ermekov July 16, 2022Odilov was stripped of the title due to injury. Ermekov promoted to champ3 Dauren Ermekov July 16, 2022Ermekov vacated when he chose to test free agency.
Welterweight Championship 166 to 175 lb (75 to 79 kg)
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 GFC 16August 30, 2019Umalatov vacated in May 2020 when he signed with PFL2 Samandar MurodovEagle FC 41September 17, 2021– Imam-Shapi Mukhtarov Eagle FC 50 August 21, 2022Murodov vacated to test free agency.3 Denis Izmodenov Eagle FC 51 December 10, 2022Izmodenov vacated on April 2023 when he signed with ACA.
Lightweight Championship 146 to 155 lb (66 to 70 kg)
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 Maksim Trunov April 14, 20192 Anvar ChergesovGFC 18 October 6, 2019- GFC 24 February 9, 20203 GFC 29 October 16, 2020Saidjamolov vacated when he signed with Brave Combat Federation4 GFC 24 February 9, 20205 Mehdi DakaevEFC 30 December 4, 2020Dakaev vacated on April 2023 when he signed with ACA. Current Ramin SultanovEagle FC 54 November 11, 2023
Featherweight Championship 136 to 145 lb (61 to 66 kg)
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 Abdurakhman GitinovasovBattle on Volga 6September 23, 20182 Jora AyvazyanApril 14, 20193 Rasul MagomedovEFC 30 December 4, 20204 Ruslan YamanbaevEFC 35April 6, 20215 Busurmankul Abdibait UuluEFC 38August 3, 2021- Rasul MagomedovEagle FC 45February 18, 20226 Rasul MagomedovEagle FC 49August 10, 2022Magomedov vacated in August 2023 when he signed with ACA.
Bantamweight Championship 126 to 135 lb (57 to 61 kg)
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 May 11, 2018Title was vacated on February 27, 2020 when Nurmagomedov signed with the UFCCurrent Renat KhavalovGFC 26July 11, 2020
Flyweight Championship 116 to 125 lb (53 to 57 kg)
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 Ali BagautinovBattle on Volga 6September 23, 2018Bagautinov vacated the title when he signed with Fight Nights Global.2 Tagir UlanbekovGFC 11May 3, 2019Ulanbekov vacated the title in May 2020 when he signed with the UFC.3 Mansur MalachievEFC 33February 9, 2021Malachiev was stripped of the title in 2022 due to injury.Current Irgit OveenchiEagle FC 49August 10, 2022
Women's divisions (defunct) Women's Bantamweight Championship to
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 2018Federation of MMA of Samara becomes GFC. The title was subsequently deactivated
Women's Flyweight Championship to
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 Liliya ShakirovaGFC 18October GFC becomes EFC. The title was subsequently deactivated
Notable athletes and alumni Diego Sanchez: Former UFC Lightweight Championship Contender. TUF 1 Middleweight Tournament Winner. Former KOTC Welterweight Champion. Kevin Lee: Former UFC interim Lightweight Championship Contender Renan Barão: Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Rashad Evans: Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Antônio Silva: Former UFC Heavyweight Fighter Junior dos Santos: Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ray Borg: Former UFC Flyweight Title Challenger Umar Nurmagomedov: Current UFC Bantamweight. Former UFC Bantamweight Title Challenger. Cousin of Eagle FC founder Khabib Nurmagomedov. Ex-Combat Sambo Champion (Not FIAS). Former Bantamweight Champion of GFC Usman Nurmagomedov: Current PFL Lightweight Champion. Former Bellator Lightweight Champion. Cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov. Younger brother of Umar Nurmagomedov Tagir Ulanbekov: Current UFC Flyweight and former Flyweight Champion of GFC. Ex-World Combat Sambo Champion (Not FIAS).
See also Eagles MMA
References