A UFC veteran called Artur Beterbiev a ‘phenomenal sportsman’ in a heartfelt message of support after his defeat to Dmitry Bivol.Beterbiev, 40, failed to defend his undisputed light heavyweight titles in a rematch with Bivol this month, as the latter exacted his revenge via majority decision to set up a potential trilogy bout.Beterbiev lost his IBF, WBC, WBA and WBO belts to BivolMatchroom BoxingThe result makes it one a piece between both men, which means a trilogy bout is likelyMark Robinson / Matchroom BoxingThe fight once again went the full 12-round distance in a captivating spectacle that witnessed both boxing elites leave everything in the squared circle.One judge scored the fight all square at 116-116, while the other two scorecards were in Bivol’s favour at 116-112 and 115-113.UFC lightweight Zubaira Tukhugov, who has been with the promotion for over 10 years, shared a message to his nearly four million Instagram followers after the bout.Tukhugov, 34, has fought at both featherweight and lightweight, with clashes inside the octagon against big names like Renato Moicano and Lerone Murphy.“Brother, Artur, you are a true champion and a worthy representative of your people,” Tukhugov wrote. “You have forever etched your name in the history of the world, professional sport. You are a phenomenal sportsman who has reached unbelievable heights in boxing. “You are an absolute champion with nothing to prove! We are proud of you!Fellow UFC stars, including the current welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, reacted to the post in support of Beterbiev.Beterbiev and Bivol are expected to square off in a third bout to decide their iconic rivalry, although the new champion has insisted he wants a rest to ‘heal myself and come back’.This put a halt to the apparent immediate challenge from WBC mandatory David Benavidez, who was ringside in Saudi Arabia and wanted to fight the winner.GettyBeterbiev could share the ring with Bivol for one last dance to decide their rivalry[/caption]Tukhugov currently has a record of 20-6 in MMAAfter the fight, 34-year-old Bivol said: “I did enough. I was better, I was pushing myself more, I was more confident, I was lighter, I just wanted to win so much today.“I just told myself he could start from the beginning to destroy me and disturb me, it was hard to keep him distanced over the first four rounds. I was tired but he was also tired. I had to punch more.”Beterbiev added: “I congratulate Bivol and his team, actually I didn’t want the second fight, it wasn’t my choice. But we’ll do the third fight.”Promoter Frank Warren said: “The quality of the fighters, two of the best in the 21st century.“The last fight was a brilliant one, but this one surpassed it by far. “The guts, the skills, the pace, everything. From start to finish, unbelievable. I don’t know how they did it to be honest, especially when one of them is 40 years old.“I thought it was close, but I thought Bivol nicked it. It’s been an unbelievable night, but they reckon they’re going to do a trilogy. So we’re going to get it again!”Tukhugov hasn’t won in the UFC since a unanimous decision victory over Ricardo Ramos in October 2021.He has fought just once since then, suffering a split decision defeat to Elves Brener in February 2023 at UFC 284.