Islam Dulatov’s reported Levan Chokheli booking pairs two fast-finish debuts

Sherdog reported that Islam Dulatov will face Levan Chokheli at UFC Saudi Arabia on Dec. 5, matching the 12-1 German welterweight with a 15-3, 1 NC opponent who stopped Leon Shahbazyan in 23 seconds in his UFC debut; the report also said Dulatov’s planned July bout with Wellington Turman was canceled after Dulatov became ill.

The booking gives Dulatov a second UFC assignment after a long interruption. He has not fought since stopping Adam Fugitt in the first round on July 19, 2025, leaving 460 days between that appearance and the generation of this report. That inactivity is the first material change for bettors: the matchup is not simply a meeting between recent first-round winners. It is also Dulatov’s return from a gap long enough to create uncertainty around timing, pace and the transferability of his debut numbers.

Dulatov’s offense is real, but the sample is one round

Dulatov has won both archived bouts in the PropBetEdge database, stopping Vanilto Antunes on the 2024 Contender Series and Fugitt in his UFC debut. Both ended by first-round knockout or technical knockout. He has not required a decision in that two-fight archive, and neither opponent recorded a finish against him.

Those results establish the mechanism behind his current profile: fast, head-focused offense with enough impact to produce an immediate change in the fight. Against Fugitt, Dulatov landed 21 significant strikes, scored one knockdown and directed 17 of those significant strikes to the head. Only three went to the body and one to the legs. He recorded no takedowns, control time or submission attempts.

The career dashboard lists Dulatov at 8.78 significant strikes landed per minute with 54 percent accuracy. It also lists 4.24 significant strikes absorbed per minute and 50 percent striking defense. Those are aggressive numbers on both sides of the exchange rather than the statistical shape of a low-output counterstriker.