After years of competing in wrestling and sambo, Bagautinov became a world Combat Sambo champion in Minsk. At the FIAS 2012 World Sambo Championships, Bagautinov defeated Belarusian Novitski Vladislav via decision in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Bagautinov defeated Kyrgyzian Razykov Alibek via TKO at 2:19 of the first round. In the tournament final, Bagautinov defeated Kazakh Asset Sagyndykov via armbar submission at 0:35 of the first round. Bagautinov was stripped of all FIAS awards and suspended from competition for two years after testing positive for methylhexanamine.
Bagautinov made his professional MMA debut in December 2009. He is a veteran of the Russian MMA promotion Fight Nights, where he compiled a record of 8-1. In 2013, Bagautinov was listed as one of the top flyweight prospects in all of MMA.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
It was announced in June 2013 that Bagautinov had signed a five-fight deal with the UFC. In his UFC debut, Bagautinov faced Marcos Vinicius on September 4, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 28. After a back-and-forth first two rounds, Bagautinov won the fight via TKO in the third round. In his second fight for the promotion, Bagautinov fought Tim Elliott on November 16, 2013 at UFC 167. Bagautinov won the fight via unanimous decision. Bagautinov fought John Lineker on February 1, 2014 at UFC 169. Bagautinov won the fight via unanimous decision. Bagautinov faced Demetrious Johnson on June 14, 2014 at UFC 174 for the UFC Flyweight Championship. Bagautinov lost the fight via unanimous decision. Subsequent to his loss, on July 10, the British Columbia Athletic Commission announced that Bagautinov tested positive for erythropoietin prior to the title fight. In response, the BCAC has suspended him from mixed martial arts competition for one year. Bagautinov's first fight after serving his suspension was against Joseph Benavidez on October 3, 2015 at UFC 192. Bagautinov lost the fight via unanimous decision. Bagautinov next faced Geane Herrera on June 18, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 89. Bagautinov won the fight via unanimous decision. Bagautinov was expected to face Kyoji Horiguchi on October 15, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 97. However, the promotion announced on October 6 that they had cancelled the event entirely. In turn, the pairing was quickly rescheduled and took place on November 19, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 99. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. It was announced on January 17, 2017 that Bagautinov has chose not to renew his contract with the UFC.
Samara MMA Federation
On September 23, 2018, Bagautinov faced Denis Oliveira Fontes Araujo at Battle of Volga 6 and won the fight via unanimous decision.
