Zubaira Alikhanovich Tukhugov (Russian: Зубайра Алиханович Тухугов; born January 15, 1991 in Grozny, Chechen Republic) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist, who currently fights in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Tukhugov made a name for himself, fighting in promotions like Cage Warriors, ProFC, Fight Nights (EFN) and others, before joining the UFC in 2014.
Tukhugov was born in Chechnya in a devout Sunni Muslim family, he was often involved in street fighting from a young age until combat sport.
Tukhugov made his professional debut in 2010 beating his three opponents by winning Pankration Atrium Cup 2 eight man, one night tournament. After a 10-3 mixed martial arts records, he would be signed by the Russian promotion, Fight Nights, where he won all of his 3 fights, defeating Romano De Los Reyes, Harun Kina and Vaso Bakocevic. During his time on Fight Nights, Tukhugov did a fight for Cage Warriors, defeating Denys Pidnebesnyi at CWFC 58.