Pulev vs Gassiev

Who won Pulev vs Gassiev?

Murat Gassiev beat Kubrat Pulev by knockout in the 6th round on Friday, December 12th, 2025, at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, Dubai.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant there was no weight limit.

This contest was for the WBA heavyweight championship of the world.

Gassiev was defending his his WBA World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. He won this belt against Kubrat Pulev in December 2025. He had held this belt for 16 days.

Also on the undercard Bakhodur Usmonov was victorious over Maxi Hughes, Vadim Musaev beat Thulani Mbenge, Khariton Agrba defeated Ruben Nestor Neri Munoz, and Faizan Anwar was victorious over Khuseyn Baysangurov.

Pulev vs Gassiev stats

Kubrat Pulev stepped into the ring with a record of 32 wins, 3 losses, and 0 draws.

Murat Gassiev made his way to the ring with a record of 32 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws.

Kubrat Pulev was the older man by 12 years, at 44 years old.

Pulev had a 4-inch reach advantage.

Both Kubrat Pulev and Murat Gassiev fought out of an orthodox stance.

Pulev was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 1 more fights, and made his debut in 2009, 2 years earlier than Gassiev, whose first professional fight was in 2011. He had fought 105 more professional rounds, totaling 274 compared to Gassiev's 169.

Murat Gassiev was ranked number 12 by the WBA in the Heavyweight division.

Pulev vs Gassiev form

Kubrat Pulev had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had beaten Mahmoud Charr on December 7, 2024, by unanimous decision in their WBA World Heavyweight championship fight at Sofia, Bulgaria.

Prior to that, he had beaten Andrzej Wawrzyk on December 14, 2023, by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at The Hangar, Costa Mesa, United States.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Derek Chisora on July 9, 2022, by split decision in their 12 round contest at O2 Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Before that, he had won against Jerry Forrest on May 14, 2022, by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Forum, California, United States.

He had lost to Anthony Joshua on December 12, 2020, by knockout in the 9th round in their WBA Super World Heavyweight, WBO World Heavyweight and IBF World Heavyweight championship fight at Wembley Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Murat Gassiev had stopped 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had beaten Kem Ljungquist on October 26, 2024, by knockout in the 5th round at Karen Demirchyan Sports Complex, Yerevan, Armenia.

Prior to that, he had been beaten by Otto Wallin on September 30, 2023, by split decision in their 12 round contest at Regnum Carya Hotel, Antalya, Turkiye.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Mike Balogun on March 3, 2023, by knockout in the 2nd round at Karen Demirchyan Sports Complex, Yerevan, Armenia.

Before that, he had defeated Carlouse Welch on August 26, 2022, by knockout in the 1st round at Belgrade, Serbia.

He had won against Michael Wallisch on July 22, 2021, by technical knockout in the 4th round at Dynamo Volleyball Arena, Moscow, Russia.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Murat Gassiev had been fighting more than Kubrat Pulev.

Going into this contest, Kubrat Pulev had last fought 1 year and 5 days ago, while Murat Gassiev's last outing had been 1 year, 1 month and 16 days ago.

Pulev's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, which means he had been fighting approximately every 1 year. In those fights, he fought a total of 53 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 10.6 rounds on average.

Gassiev's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 4 months and 20 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 16 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 24 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4.8 rounds on average.

What time did Pulev vs Gassiev start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 8:20 PM UTC at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which was 3:20 PM EST or 12:20 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 8:20 PM GMT in the UK.

Who broadcast Pulev vs Gassiev?

The DAZN show began at 7:00 AM EST / 4:00 AM PST. The DAZN Global broadcast of the card started at 12:00 PM (GTM).

What were the odds on Pulev vs Gassiev?

Kubrat Pulev was a 12/5 (+240) underdog going into the contest, while Murat Gassiev made his way into the ring at 3/10 (-330) with oddsmakers.