A UFC fighter who says he practices polygamy says it is 'normal' to have 2 wives

• Zhalgas Zhumagulov claims to have six children and two wives.
• The UFC flyweight, a fighter from Kazakhstan, said polygamy is "normal" in principle.

UFC flyweight Zhalgas Zhumagulov says that he practices polygamy, that he has six children with two wives, and that "in principle, it's normal."

The Kazakhstan fighter made the revelation on the Let Me Interrupt You MMA podcast, saying: "At first, there were challenges but now everything is fine."

He said: "Yes, I have two wives — two wives and six children."

Polygamy is illegal throughout North America, South America, and the European Union, but is legal or socially accepted in around 70 countries around the world, according to the New Yorker.

Zhumagulov was born in the Aktobe region in Kazakh SSR, in 1988.

Though polygamy is technically illegal in Kazahkstan, it was decriminalized in 1998 and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported in 2011 it is "a fact of life" in the Central Asia region.

Describing the living arrangement with his families, Zhumagulov said: "Well, where did I leave from? If I left, for example, from my second wife, I go to the first. If I left the first, I go to the second. A day here, a day there."

Zhumagulov competed in regional MMA promotions in Russia, Kazakhstan, and China until he signed with the UFC in 2020.

He made his debut for the market-leading combat sports firm at the UFC's inaugural "Fight Island" festival in July 2020, before returning to Abu Dhabi the following year.

Zhumagulov has fought four times in the UFC, winning one fight and losing three. He has an overall pro MMA record of 14 wins (seven knockouts, one submission, and six decisions) against six losses.

It is unclear when he will fight again in the Octagon, but when he does he will be in desperate need of a victory to secure his UFC future.