Islam Dulatov’s return against Wellington Turman in Abu Dhabi is the kind of matchup that immediately changes the conversation. After 12 months away from the Octagon, Dulatov is back, and he has made it clear he expects to restart his rise with another finish.
The timing makes the fight even more interesting. Dulatov had not competed since his UFC debut win over Adam Fugitt at UFC 318 in the summer of 2024, while Turman had been out of action for over two years before this Saturday’s bout. In other words, Dulatov Vs Turman is not just a fight between two names on a card — it is a meeting between two fighters trying to reset their momentum.
Dulatov says the pause is over
Dulatov explained that his time away came first because of Ramadan and then because of personal family matters. His message was simple: the break is done, and he is ready to move on.
“We were going through some stuff, but the most important thing is that everything is good now, everything is done,” he said. “It was Ramadan — I couldn’t fight during Ramadan when I got offered a fight, and before that time, it was something personal with my family, so I needed to take time for myself, for my family, and I did.”
That context matters because this is not a case of a fighter disappearing without explanation. Dulatov said the time off was necessary, and he sounded relieved to be back. “But now we’re back, everything is fixed, so let’s do it,” he said.
For a 22-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series graduate, that is the key point. His momentum was interrupted, but not lost. His first UFC win over Adam Fugitt ended in the first round and pushed him to a 12-fight winning streak, so the challenge now is to prove that the pause has not dulled his edge.
Why Turman is a live danger
Dulatov has been open about what he expects from Saturday in Abu Dhabi. He wants a finish, and he believes he can get one. “I always try to come for a finish, knock people out — I try to entertain the people who come to watch the fight because I know people love violence, and I try to give them what they love,” he said.
He was even more direct when discussing his own confidence. “He’s a good guy, I respect him, and he seems to be a tough guy as well in the fights, but I know what I want to do and I’m going to knock him out, 100 percent, insh’Allah,” Dulatov said.
That confidence is understandable, but Turman is not arriving without credentials. Dulatov pointed out that Turman has nine UFC fights, “eight more than me,” and said he remains dangerous despite a welterweight run that has produced two losses and an extended hiatus. Turman also previously fought at middleweight before moving down.
That creates the real question in this bout. Is Turman’s experience enough to trouble a fighter with fresh momentum, or is Dulatov simply too sharp, too young and too aggressive to let the contest settle?
What Dulatov thinks the UFC spotlight really means
One of the more revealing parts of Dulatov’s build-up is how little he appears to fear the occasion. He said his Contender Series experience helped him understand that the UFC stage is not something to be overwhelmed by.
“It was a very good opportunity for me to see more of what’s going on inside the UFC, how big all of this is, and I realized for myself that it’s not that big… We make it so big in our heads and because of that, you make yourself nervous,” he said.
He added: “At the end of the night, everybody is going out, they go home, and Monday, everybody forgot about you and they have to go to work.”
That is a fighter’s answer, but it also explains why Dulatov sounds so settled heading into this comeback. He is not treating Abu Dhabi like a career-defining burden. He is treating it like a chance to do what he says he does best.
“It’s not that deep, so just go in, put on a show, show some skills. Try to have fun,” he said.
For Dulatov, that may be the cleanest summary of the night. The layoff is over, the explanation is clear, and the expectation is even clearer: he wants to make his return count, and he believes Wellington Turman is the man in front of him who will find that out first.
