MMA fighter returns from two-year layoff to flatten opponent with must-see KO

Altynbek Mamashov’s first knockout since 2021 came in sensational fashion when the Kyrgyzstani MMA fighter made his return to action at ACA 199.

The UFC is set to finally return next Saturday with UFC 324 in Las Vegas before the promotion heads down to Australia the following weekend for UFC 325, but there was plenty of high-level MMA on offer this week from the likes of ACA, Oktagon, KSW, LFA, and more.

ACA already kicked off 2026 last weekend with ACA 198, and on Friday the Russian promotion held an ACA 199 card at Basket Hall in Krasnador that included Mamashov's return to face Bellator veteran Chris Honeycutt.

Altynbek Mamashov Scores Vicious KO After Two-Year Layoff

Already a veteran of more than 20 professional MMA bouts heading into ACA 198, Mamashov was competing for the first time since taking a unanimous decision over Mikhail Doroshenko at ACA 167 in late 2023.

“Golden” was originally scheduled to return against Khalid Satuev last summer before that matchup fell through, and he was subsequently booked to meet Honeycutt in his first middleweight outing since the early part of his MMA career. Honeycutt closed out 2025 with a split decision loss to Dauren Ermekov, but prior to that the American had won back-to-back decisions over Vladimir Vasilyev and the formerly-undefeated Shamil Yamilov.

Welcoming Mamashov back to 185 lbs., Honeycutt was visibly rocked by an uppercut during the opening seconds of the second round. Seeing his chance to end things, Mamashov immediately began pressuring “The Cutt” and landed a number of huge strikes before Honeycutt left himself wide open for a brutal right hook that sent him toppling to the canvas.

The result marked Mamashov’s first knockout-win since 2021, when he stopped Elias Silverio with strikes in the second round after defeating Vasily Kurochkin in the same manner several months earlier. The Kyrgyzstani fighter also now finds himself on the first two-fight winning streak of his ACA career since those back-to-back finishes, as a 2022 meeting with Irwing Machado ended in a No Contest before he lost three-straight decisions to Andrey Koshkin, UFC veteran Albert Tumenov, and Ruslan Kolodko.

With two events already in the books to start 2026, ACA is set to hold a milestone event next month on February 8 with ACA 200, which features a pair of title bouts and will see former ACA welterweight titleholder Tumenov try to unseat Middleweight Champion Magomedrasul Gasanov, who has already defended his belt six times.

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