Mehemmedeli Osmanli did not accept the way his TUF 34 bantamweight final ended at UFC Vegas 121.
Osmanli accused Ilimbek Akylbek of exaggerating the damage from the illegal knee that led to their first-round disqualification finish Saturday at Meta APEX in Las Vegas. The post-fight claim surfaced through a clip from Osmanli’s Instagram Live, after the official result had already listed Akylbek as the winner by disqualification.
This is separate from the result itself. MiddleEasy’s Akylbek-Osmanli result story covered the official stoppage, while Osmanli’s earlier fight-week media day remarks came before the foul. The new development is his accusation after the fight was over.
Osmanli Says Akylbek Put On A Show
The clip, shared by Kevin on X, shows Osmanli arguing that Akylbek had first grabbed his leg and then changed his reaction once the referee stepped in. The available English quote is narrow, but it is material because it explains why Osmanli is disputing the finish instead of only accepting the foul.
“He fake. First he take my leg. Then when referee stop, he put on show.”
Mahammadali Osmanli Believes Ilimbek Akylbek Faked The Damage From The Illegal Knee To Win At #UFCVegas121 via His IG Live pic.twitter.com/jjN0UOgTxv
— Kevin (@realkevink) September 27, 2026
The accusation does not change the official result. UFC’s results page lists Akylbek defeating Osmanli by disqualification at 2:19 of Round 1 in the TUF 34 bantamweight final. The stoppage came after Osmanli threw a knee while Akylbek was grounded.
The Official Clips Show The Foul Sequence
UFC on Paramount posted two direct clips from the sequence. The first emphasized that the knee was not legal, and the second showed the final being waved off after the strike landed. Those clips are important because they keep the official context attached to Osmanli’s later claim.
That one was…. not legal.
[ #UFCVegas121 | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/0304U5ELFc
— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) September 27, 2026
The #TUF34 final between Mahammadali Osmanli & Ilimbek Akylbek is waved off.
[ #UFCVegas121 | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/AVbAPWmFxO
— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) September 27, 2026
Sherdog’s highlight page also carried both official UFC clips and described Akylbek as unable to continue after the illegal knee. That matches the official record while leaving Osmanli’s post-fight accusation as a disputed reaction rather than a ruling.
The distinction matters because the foul itself is not in serious dispute. Osmanli’s issue is what he believes Akylbek did after the knee landed. That makes the story a post-fight response lane, not a rewrite of the official result.
Akylbek Keeps The TUF 34 Win
Akylbek left the card as the TUF 34 bantamweight winner because the referee ruled that the grounded-fighter foul ended the bout. Osmanli’s frustration may fuel calls for a rematch, but the public record still says the fight ended by disqualification.
The sequence also creates an awkward UFC debut point for both fighters. Akylbek officially won the tournament, while Osmanli took his first professional loss in a fight where he had entered as one of the season’s more visible personalities.
There is also a timing difference between the sources. The UFC clips and result page establish what the referee and promotion recorded during the card. Osmanli’s Instagram Live clip came afterward, once he had time to frame the ending in his own words. Keeping those pieces in order prevents the reaction from being mistaken for an official review or a commission finding.
For Akylbek, the immediate consequence is straightforward: he remains the tournament winner unless an athletic-commission action says otherwise. For Osmanli, the accusation keeps the finish alive as a dispute and gives the UFC a ready-made rematch hook if matchmakers want to revisit the pairing later.
The remaining question is whether this becomes a one-week controversy or a matchmaking thread. Because the bout ended before either fighter could build a clean competitive sample, any future rematch would carry both sporting and regional interest around the same foul sequence.
Nothing in the available source package supports declaring Akylbek’s reaction fake as a fact. The publishable fact is that Osmanli made the accusation, that UFC’s official clips show the illegal knee and stoppage, and that the official result remains Akylbek by disqualification.
The cleanest read is therefore limited but newsworthy. Osmanli lost the final by an illegal strike, then publicly argued that Akylbek sold the damage after the referee intervened. The record and the reaction now sit side by side.
That is why the post-fight quote stands on its own. Osmanli’s claim gives the controversy a new speaker and a new timestamp after the bout, but it does not override the referee’s decision or the UFC result page.
