Sergey Morozov (fighter)

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Sergey Morozov (born June 14, 1989) is a Kazakhstani former mixed martial artist who fought in the bantamweight division of the UFC. He is a former M-1 Bantamweight Champion and retired in March 2023.

Morozov stood 5 ft 5 in tall, weighed 135 lb, and had a reach of 67 in. He fought out of Aktobe, Kazakhstan, for Team Erkin Kush, with a pro career spanning 2008–2022. His record stands at 24 wins and 5 losses (8 wins by knockout, 3 by submission, 8 by decision; 1 loss by knockout, 3 by submission, 1 by decision).

As a youth, Morozov played football and joined the Aktobe-Zhas team in Kazakhstan’s First League for two seasons before leaving for character reasons. In December 2021, he converted to Islam.

Morozov built his career mainly on the Russian regional scene and with M-1 Global Challenge, where he became the M-1 Bantamweight Champion. He first challenged Movsar Evloev for the title at M-1 Challenge 88 (February 22, 2018) and lost by rear-naked choke in the third round. He later won the title against Aleksandr Osetrov at M-1 Challenge 102 by TKO in the third round and defended it against Josh Rettinghouse at M-1 Challenge 105 by unanimous decision.

In the UFC, Morozov was first set to face Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 254, but Nurmagomedov withdrew. They fought later at UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny on January 20, 2021, and Morozov lost by submission in the second round. He then defeated Khalid Taha by unanimous decision on July 17, 2021. On February 12, 2022, he faced Douglas Silva de Andrade at UFC 271, losing by rear-naked choke in the second round but earning Fight of the Night honors. He beat Raulian Paiva by unanimous decision on June 25, 2022, and Journey Newson by unanimous decision on December 17, 2022. Morozov’s retirement was announced by his manager in March 2023.