The best fighters in Russia at the moment. Who are they? The best Russian fighters in the UFC Rating of Russian MMA fighters
24 Russian fighters in the UFC. All victories and defeats in the Match TV study
Rashid Magomedov fought his fifth fight in the UFC, and Match TV tells what success the Russians have achieved in the most popular MMA promotion.
We counted the Russian UFC fighters who signed a contract with the promotion and have not been fired until now. For each fighter, we also decided to show statistics of wins and losses in the UFC and the average number of appearances, dividing the number of fights by the number of months from signing the contract until September 2016.
For comparison: the statistics of the most popular UFC champion Conor McGregor: 8 wins 1 loss, with one fight in five months. Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic has won ten times and lost twice, averaging one fight every four months, while champion Amanda Nunes is 6-1 and fights about once every six months.
Ali comes first both as a flyweight (56 kg) and as the first Russian to fight for a title in the UFC. He is the only one on the list who actually fought for the title. Ali lost that fight, then lost another one, but now the Russian has overcome the defeat and is preparing for a fight on October 15 in Malaysia.
A possible starting player for the Grozny “Terek” and a citizen of Austria is waiting for serious opponents - after his only defeat, Taisumov won four fights in a row by knockout.
Tukhugov called Conor McGregor “the devil”, but in May 2016 he unexpectedly lost to Renato Carneiro at UFC 198.
The man who was one of the first Russians to bring the famous backbend to the UFC and tested it on Vince Pitchel. Khabilov fought in the main fight with Ben Henderson and lost, after which he lost again and began training with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father. The result is great. Three victories in 2016.
You all already know - the most popular Russian fighter in the UFC, the main contender for the title in the same organization.
A fighter who was on a four-fight winning streak and could have been in contention for a title shot has incredibly managed to fly under the radar of the UFC when he's outside the Octagon. Even his recent heroic act - Rashid saving a 6-year-old drowning boy - did not have much impact on his reputation. And then there was a more serious blow - Rashid lost for the first time in the UFC.
Islam represented the MMA community in the Meldonium scandal. In the spring, the fighter was removed from the fight due to residues of the substance in his blood. Fortunately, everything worked out, and already in September, Khabib’s partner won at UFC FN 94.
The fighter disappeared for the entire 2016, the latest news is Mustafaev’s interview with Sportbox before UFC Fight Night 69 with the headline “Ring girls must cover everything.”
Right now, Omari is coming off two TKO losses in the third rounds, and it's not easy. In six fights in the UFC, the fighter only listened to the judges’ decision once, so Akhmedov will definitely be given a chance.
He had an unexpectedly difficult fight in Stockholm in January 2015 and has not appeared in the Octagon since then.
Knockout performed by Adam Khaliev in 2011, everyone involved in MMA watched. In 2014, the athlete signed a contract with the UFC and is on the roster of promotion fighters, but does not fight.
He performs often and well. True, in the last fight he lost to Gunnar Nelson from the mysterious Iceland, who before the fight ate the national dish of sheep's head. Apparently it helps. Tumenov will be rehabilitated on October 9.
The master of four sports performs in the UFC intermittently. In Russia, Yakovlev will also be remembered as the man who shot two rap videos. In the USA - as the winner of a very serious guy, Gray Maynard.
Ramzan Kadyrov's sparring partner and representative of the Akhmat club was already ready to make his debut in the UFC, but Edilov was notified of a positive doping test.
Dmitry Smolyakov trained with the boxing and wrestling teams, told great stories about studying in an American college with the current UFC champion and helped Shlemenko in the fight against Vasilevsky, but the Russian’s own debut was not successful. Dmitry lost by choke, but promised to return.
Two excellent victories in the UFC were crushed by a defeat in the last fight, when Oleinik, after a long break due to injury, failed to defeat Daniel Omelyanchuk.
An undefeated Russian heavyweight in the UFC - this alone obliged us to keep an eye on Ruslan, but a few weeks ago the fighter was notified of a violation of anti-doping policy. Now you have to follow the news.
He made an unsuccessful debut, overcame the defeat and, having missed a year and a half, is preparing to return to the Octagon.
One of the most promising girls delayed her debut for a very long time due to injury. She performed, was very impressive and was out again for 16 months. He promises to hold a fight in the near future.
Despite her Russian passport, Shevchenko is not associated with a Russian woman. The girl is a resident of Peru and herself says that she represents this state and Kyrgyzstan, where she spent her childhood. It's a pity, Shevchenko on this list is one of the most obvious contenders for the title.
I missed quite a lot of time, but in the last month doping officers visited Dudieva twice, which means her return will happen very soon.
Alexander Volkov showed how quickly you can get into the UFC if you are a heavyweight. The most prominent MMA organization did not notice the fighter’s two defeats in Bellator, one of which was to Chick Knogo, who was fired from the UFC, and agreed to sign a contract with Volkov as soon as he closed them with two victories at M-1 tournaments.
Antigulov lost four times, with three of the four defeats coming by series. And the first was in the first fight of his career against Adlan Amagov. Antigulov has overcome his defeats with a streak of 12 victories and is ready to make his UFC debut.
It will be very difficult to choose the most interesting fact for a short description. Sosnovsky beat Alexander Emelianenko in 100 seconds. He is a heavyweight who is undefeated, and after performing for the Oplot club, many thought that the Russian had Ukrainian citizenship. Sosnovsky is friends with, trains and spars with the famous fighter Alexei Oleynik, being considered his main student.
He fought his last fight in June 2012. After that fight against Pedro Rizzou, for many fans of mixed martial arts, the Russian heavyweight division actually sunk into oblivion. In fact, at that time, hardly any of the Russians representing this weight category could, in terms of their results, come even a little closer to the achievements of the Last Emperor. However, time passes, and those who have not yet hung up their gloves are making attempts to stay afloat, and new faces are struggling to prove their worth. “Championat.com” brings to your attention the “hot ten” domestic heavyweights who have given us hope with their performances and are capable of truly surprising us in the future. Following the title of the article, let's start with “fathers”.
Sergei Kharitonov: 60% ready
After losing to Josh Barnett in the semi-finals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, Sergei Kharitonov won two victories, fighting one fight per year (according to MMA rules). The last fight with Alexei Kudin was well remembered by the audience not only for the fact that the fight was stopped for a not entirely clear reason, but also for Kharitonov’s comment regarding the degree of his readiness for the fight. 60 percent for a fighter of this level is, of course, not enough. It seemed as if this reflected how much was left of the old Kharitonov, who delighted us with brilliant fights in PRIDE. But, taking into account the experience and merits of the Russian, let us express the hope that he is able to appear before the public in the best condition and fully demonstrate his skills and abilities. There would be a desire. Of course, the injuries and surgery he suffered sharply reduce the likelihood of the Tula paratrooper’s triumphant return, but 33 years for a heavyweight by today’s standards is rather a time of heyday rather than a moment to think about changing his profession.
: attention wanted!
The latest news headlines involving Alexander Emelianenko were full of reports that he could be put on the federal wanted list. We will not exaggerate this topic, but will focus on the search for Alexander as a fighter and athlete, who was clearly lost behind a veil of scandals, broken contracts and failed fights. Paradoxically, Emelianenko Jr. remains in demand, as evidenced by his agreement with the young Colosseum promotion. Probably, someone will look at this with a sarcastic smile, expecting Alexander’s next trick, or will see in this a story of a fall, while numerous photos from training will be perceived as an unsuccessful attempt to hide problems that are already well-known to everyone. We, allowing for any possible development of events, will allow ourselves to look at this as a story of overcoming and wish Alexander good luck in the upcoming battle.
Alexey Oleynik: space as a premonition
A Kharkov resident with a Russian passport quite unexpectedly appeared in the headlines of sports chronicles. Having finally sorted out his relationship with Jeff Monson and dealt with Dion Staring in his favorite manner, Oleinik in a very short period managed to prepare for a fight with a real legend of mixed martial arts and K-1 Mirko Filipovic. As we remember, the Croatian was forced to admit defeat in the first round, and very soon Oleinik signed a contract with the UFC, clearly answering the question about his desire to retire. Even though the agreement was signed, Boa Constrictor has not yet reached the cage, citing injury. Nevertheless, the very fact of the appearance of a Russian in the heavyweight division of this organization is undoubtedly encouraging. Thus, we wish Alexey a speedy recovery and a successful debut overseas.
Magomed Malikov: into the cage without haste
After defeating Jeff Monson last June, fans of mixed martial arts might have heard about Magomed Malikov as a coach or second, as the sports director of the Fortress club, but not as a fighter. The refusal to continue participating in the M-1 Heavyweight Grand Prix still leaves the question unanswered as to whether the athlete will return to the cage or the ring. Malikov himself, apparently, is not worried about such a long break and does not consider this time wasted, preferring patience to haste. At the same time, according to a number of sources, in 2014 Malikov may fight against Andrei Orlovsky. As of today, this information has not been officially confirmed, but it gives us hope for the continuation of the fighting career of one of the discoveries of recent years in the heavyweight division of Russian MMA.
: it's never too late
Five wins by knockout in the first round are, of course, a reason to take a closer look at the fighter. Today Erokhin is called one of the most promising Russian heavyweights, despite his relatively recent start to performances and his rather mature age (32 years). In addition, the level of the Russian’s opponents is gradually growing. The upcoming fight with Brett Rogers may allow us to better understand the viability of Konstantin’s ambitions, because only by choosing more and more serious opponents is it possible to progress. We remember that before meeting Fedor Emelianenko, Rogers had a streak of 10 consecutive knockout victories. We are not hinting at the possibility of history repeating itself, but we wish Konstantin to approach his opponent with all responsibility and win another beautiful victory.
Ruslan Magomedov: friendship is more important
Ruslan Magomedov also deserves a place on this list. Victories over Mike Hayes and Tim Sylvia showed that the fighter is ready to fight to the end, without getting out of breath after the first round, even if the opponent is larger and more experienced. However, the process of terminating the contract with Bellator even before its execution began led to some downtime in the athlete’s career. The reason for this, as follows from sources, is the presence of Leopard’s friend Vitaly Minakov in the organization, the possibility of a fight with whom is excluded - for personal reasons. The negative effect now is that until the end of the legal proceedings, Ruslan will not be able to speak in any other organization. Well, let's hope that bureaucratic misunderstandings will not prevent our athlete from returning to work with advanced training.
Mikhail Mokhnatkin: risk is a noble cause
The fight between Mikhail Mokhnatkin and Valentine Overem left few people indifferent. Some pointed out that the brother of the famous Dutchman openly “leaked” the fight, earning money in the manner of Bob Sapp, others saw in the actions of the young Russian a good ability to navigate the cage and not lose composure even at critical moments. We will not talk about how high Mikhail can climb, but his progress in amateur sports (gold at the Russian Championship and bronze at the European Combat Sambo Championship) may indicate that he is not going to stop there, including as a professional .
Mikhail Gazaev: we are developing
After the fight between Mikhail Gazaev and Konstantin Glukhov, we learned quite a lot about the meaning of the word “development” and got the opportunity to take a broader look at combat tactics. Be that as it may, leaving the lyrics behind, we note that in that fight both athletes behaved unprofessionally: Glukhov - because he could not act within the rules, Gazaev - because he entered this fight thinking about the upcoming fight with Jeff Monson, which was supposed to take place in two weeks. The result is known. And yet, taking into account previously held fights, we can say that the Chelyabinsk resident rightfully takes his place on the list of promising heavyweights. We hope that the recovery process will not be delayed, and in the rematch with Glukhov, Mikhail will fully focus on his opponent and use his entire arsenal so that the audience has no doubt about his progress.
Alexander Volkov: Drago's second attempt
At first glance, Alexander Volkov appeared quite unexpectedly in Bellator, as if he went through all the stages of the Grand Prix without any problems and won the championship belt, after which he also quickly parted with it. After the defeat by Vitaly Minakov, media attention to Drago sharply decreased, and even the very fact of his championship in a not-so-recent organization faded somewhat. However, this attitude did not force the Russian to abandon his goal: in the upcoming heavyweight tournament, Alexander will go on another quest for the title, and the first obstacle on his way will be the American Mark Holata. We wish Volkov not to slow down and confidently overcome obstacles, as he did in the first Grand Prix.
: only UFC is higher
Champion Bellatror shows us his view on development. Most likely, it won’t be a mistake to assume that seeing him at the UFC tournament is a dream come true for most Russian MMA fans. Vitaly is rapidly gaining momentum and the first defense of the belt from the attacks of the Sheikh of the Congo should be another confirmation of his readiness to move to the largest MMA promotion. Of course, I don’t want to plunge into fantasy while there are very real goals on the horizon, but I want to believe that Minakov will succeed and we will again be able to see our fighter in confrontation with representatives of the elite of mixed martial arts, being more worried about the latter.
Hopes of Russia in MMA. Top 8 best fighters in our country at the moment
“Soviet Sport” has compiled a rating of the best Russian MMA fighters, according to eight weight categories.Heavy weight
Alexander Volkov (UFC, 28 years old)
What has already been done
Alexander Volkov became the champion of Bellator, then M-1. Last year he signed a contract with the UFC and won two victories in this promotion in fights against not the weakest heavyweights Timothy Johnson and Roy Nelson. After that, he secured the tenth line in the ranking of his division in the UFC. For a very long time in the world ranking he was below the Russians Denis Goltsov and Vitaly Minakov. Just a month ago he overtook them.
What's to come
Most likely, Alexander Volkov will have a fight against the Dutchman Stefan Struve in the future. If Alexandro wins this fight, then in the next fight his opponent could be a fairly strong fighter. Considering that Volkov is only 28 years old, he has every chance to gain a foothold in the UFC. Now the heavyweight division is filled with veterans of the sport, who are almost 40 years old. Sooner or later, they will all hang up their gloves and Volkov can shoot.
Who breathes behind: Vitaly Minakov
Light Heavyweight
Rashid Yusupov (M-1, 25 years old)
What has already been done
Rashid Yusupov only recently entered the top Russian fighters. In May 2016, he managed to defeat Viktor Nemkov by split decision and become the M-1 league light heavyweight champion. Many thought that Rashid would not be able to defend his title in the first fight. However, in a fight against one of the best German fighters, Stefan Pütz, he won a convincing victory by technical knockout in the third round.
What's to come
Recently, a scandal broke out in M-1, the participants of which were fighters of the Highlander club, in which Rashid Yusupov also trains. Promotion President Vadim Finkelstein said that the “highlanders” will no longer perform under the auspices of the organization. Many promotion companies have already even made an offer to Yusupov. He could end up in ACB or even Bellator in the future. Rashid himself is not averse to trying his hand at the strongest league in the UFC. However, M-1 and Highlander may soon make peace.
Who breathes behind: Victor Nemkov
Average weight
AlexanderShlemenko (Bellator/M-1, 33 years old)
What has already been done
Alexander Shlemenko is one of the most experienced Russian fighters. He has 65 fights under MMA rules. He was the Bellator middleweight champion and then won the M-1 Grand Prix in that weight class. Shlemenko has his own author's school in Omsk. It's called "Storm". This is exactly the fighter’s nickname.
What's to come
Despite the fact that Shlemenko has a contract with Bellator, the American League allows him to fight in Russia. So, in March 2017, Shlemenko defeated American Paul Bradley by unanimous decision, and in June he will fight against Brandon Halsey, to whom he lost in September 2014. It was then that the Russian lost the Bellator champion title. If Alexander takes revenge in St. Petersburg, then in his next fight he may again fight for the Bellator belt against Rafael Carvalho.
Who breathes behind: Ramazan Emeev
Welterweight
Andrey Koreshkov (Bellator, 26 years old)
What has already been done
Andrey Koreshkov is one of Alexander Shlemenko’s students. If it weren’t for “Storm”, then probably no one would have known about such an athlete as Koreshkov. Andrey, following his teacher, became the champion of the Bellator league and shows spectacular fights. He made his first title defense against top American Benson Henderson, who was a champion in the UFC. The Russian beat his opponent all five rounds, but failed to knock him out. But the victory was deserved. However, already in the next fight, Koreshkov sensationally lost by knockout to the Brazilian Douglas Lima, whom he defeated in 2015.
What's to come
Recently Koreshkov broke his leg and was out of training for some time. Bellator management won't give him a championship shot right away. Koreshkov will have to fight at least one fight to prove that he is worthy of the title of contender.
Who breathes behind: Albert Tumenov
A light weight
Khabib Nurmagomedov (UFC, 28 years old)
What has already been done
Khabib Nurmagomedov is the most popular Russian fighter at the moment. He could have become the first UFC champion from Russia, but the title of “interim” lightweight champion was a bad fit for the fight against Tony Ferguson. He was unable to lose weight at the right time. I had to force the weight loss, which led to body failure. The fight against Tony was cancelled. Currently, Khabib has a winning streak of 24 in a row. He does not yet know what the bitterness of defeat is.
What's to come
If the UFC management forgets all the grievances, then the Nurmagomedov-Ferguson fight will still take place in the fall. Khabib has a good chance of not only becoming a “temporary” champion, but also “breaking” the world star Conor McGregor, who holds the full title. But it’s not entirely clear how Khabib will run after Conor. The Irishman chooses his own opponents, and the UFC will not contradict him. Conor makes money not only for himself, but for the entire promotion company. There is also a problem with weight loss. Nurmagomedov loses 10 to 20 kg before fights, which has a very bad effect on his health. It is likely that he will be forced to move up to a heavier weight category. But the guys there will be stronger.
Who breathes behind: Rustam Khabilov
Feather-weight
Magomed Idrisov(M-1)
What has already been done
Magomed Idrisov began his career with a defeat, a technical knockout from Artur Astakhov in 2012. But then he achieved seven victories. In his last fight, he knocked out the top Slovakian fighter Ivan Buchingerai and unexpectedly became the M-1 featherweight champion.
What's to come
Idrisov is part of the Highlander club. It is unclear whether he will remain in the M-1 league or choose another promotion.
Who breathes behind: Salman Zhamaldaev
Bantamweight
Petr Yan (ACB, 24 years old)
What has already been done
Petr Yan is a unique fighter. He works masterfully in a stand-up position and is not inferior to Dagestani wrestlers in wrestling, and sometimes surpasses them in this component of MMA. In March 2016, in a fight against Magomed Magomedov for the title of ACB bantamweight champion, he showed everything he was capable of. But then he lost by split decision. That fight was recognized by many authoritative publications as the best of the year. In 2017, Yan took confident revenge from Magomedov and took the belt from him.
What's to come
Peter is not going to leave the ACB league anytime soon. Soon he will make his first title defense, and then for the third time he may fight against Magomed Magomedov. The UFC is already very interested in Russian athletes. In a few years, Peter may become part of the strongest league in the world.
Who breathes behind: Bekbulat Magomedov
Flyweight
Magomed Bibulatov (UFC, 28 years old)
What has already been done
Magomed Bibulatov fought only 14 fights in his career and won all of them. He became the champion of such famous organizations as ACB, WSOF and WFCA. In 2016, he signed a contract with the UFC and already managed to make his debut with a victory in a fight against Jenel Lausa. Now the Russian occupies tenth place in the world ranking of representatives of the flyweight category.
What's to come
The UFC champion is the American Demetrius Johnson, who “cleared out” his entire division. He simply has no competitors now, which is very good for Magomed. Two victories in the UFC could very well take him to a championship fight. If this happens, he will need to learn from the mistakes of Ali Bagautinov, who, the first Russian fighter to become a champion, lost to Johnson.
Who breathes behind: Askar Askarov
They might shoot. 11 Russian MMA fighters we want to see in the UFC
In 2018, two Russian fighters, Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Yana Kunitskaya, signed contracts with the UFC promotion company. The level of Russian MMA is growing, and many athletes currently competing in Russia can compete in the strongest league in the world. Moreover, perform at a very high level.
“Soviet Sport” presents a list of fighters who will be able to “shoot” in the UFC if they sign contracts.
Attention. All athletes on our list perform in Russia. Some are being watched by UFC scouts. But this does not mean that the fighters will end up in the American promotion.
Akhmed Aliyev
UFC scouts have been watching Ahmed for a long time, but the Russian is in no hurry to sign a contract with the American promotion, extending his current agreement with Fight Nights. In his last fight, Aliyev looked good against ex-UFC fighter Brazilian Diego Brandao and beat him on points until the Latino freaked out and left the “cage.” Aliyev was awarded the victory by technical knockout. Ahmed is currently ranked 24th in the world lightweight rankings. And he could easily deal with James Vick, a UFC fighter who is in 14th place in the organization’s ranking and 24th in the world ranking. Most likely, in 2018 we will not see a Russian in the strongest organization in the world. But next year this option looks very optimistic.
Eduard Vartanyan
The fighter fully lives up to his nickname - “Lionheart”, fighting in every fight as the leader of the pride, not sparing not only his opponents, but also himself. 2017 was a turning point in Eduard’s career. He had three great fights in the ACB league and fought on equal terms with the champion Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov. Most fans believe that he won that fight and should have taken the title, but the judges decided differently. In any case, Eduard's place in the world ranking seems to be underestimated (37th). Objectively, he should be among the top 30 lightweights on the planet. And he would have been in his position if the judges had not stolen his victory in the championship battle.
Chance to see UFC in next two years: 50%.
Albert Duraev
The last time Duraev lost was almost four years ago to Anatoly Tokov. After that defeat, he had already fought seven fights and won all of them, convincingly. In his last fight, he left no chance for the top Russian middleweight Vyacheslav Vasilevsky, defeating him by technical knockout in the first round. Albert is a universal fighter who works well in a standing position with his feet and hands, and on the ground he “breaks” no worse than Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Albert became the first ACB League athlete to become a champion in two weight categories (welterweight and middleweight). Duraev's level exactly corresponds to the top 10 of the UFC middleweight category. The American promotion should pay attention to an athlete who could revive interest in the division.
Chance to see UFC in next two years: 30%.
Yusuf Raisov
Yusuf is one of the young Russian fighters whom scouts have been following since their youth. Raisov has an athletic body structure, high-quality wrestling and good striking technique. He is now the promotion's "interim" featherweight champion. In 2018, his rematch with full-fledged title holder Marat Balaev is expected. Undoubtedly, Raisov still has a lot to learn and room to grow. But if he ends up in the UFC, he will gain experience much faster. This guy was born for the biggest fights.
Chance to see UFC in next two years: 80%.
Askar Askarov
The best Russian representative of the flyweight category simply has to try his hand at the UFC. At the moment, the champion in the strongest league in the world is American Demetrius Johnson, who has completely cleared the division. Each time it becomes more and more difficult for him to find an opponent. The big hope for the UFC was the signing of Magomed Bibulatov, but our athlete lost in his second fight under the auspices of the promotion. Even earlier, Ali Bagautinov fought there, who even reached the title fight. But it was not possible to compete with Johnson. Askar Askarov is only 25 years old. Now he is at the peak of his form.
Chance to see UFC in next two years: 85%.
Marina Mokhnatkina
Marina is a multiple world champion in sambo, and has only recently competed in MMA. But those four fights in which Mokhnatkina took part showed that she is a very promising girl fighter. She is now 29 years old. If she wants to try herself in a fight against the best, then it’s time to move to the UFC. Moreover, scouts from the strongest promotions are closely watching her.
Chance to see UFC in next two years: 50%.
Alexey Kunchenko
One of the best welterweights in Russia, a student of Alexander Shlemenk, owner of a perfect record (17-0) is only 62nd in the world rankings. The fact is that he competes in M-1, where there are few worthy opponents, and Kunchenko has already dealt with all of them. Alexey is already 33 years old. Fans have been waiting for a long time for the athlete to leave Russia and try himself abroad. Whether Alexey himself wants this is unknown.
Chance to see UFC in next two years: 20%.
Ivan Shtyrkov
At first, Shtyrkov was considered a fighter to whom aged champions were brought for slaughter, who is now no longer rated in the States. But over time, the opinion towards the Ural Hulk changed. Now Ivan is the cherished target of such promotions as UFC and Bellator. There were already offers, but Shtyrkov refused for the reason that he was not yet ready enough for big fights. Shtyrkov has everything to be successful in the strongest league in the world. All that remains is to agree to the offer from the UFC management.
Chance to see UFC in next two years: 70%.
Batraz Agnaev
Agnaev became a discovery for many last year. In July, at the ACB 65 tournament, he won a beautiful victory by technical knockout over the famous Brazilian Thiago Silva and fell in love with many MMA fans. On January 27, the first defense of the belt against the attacks of Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov will take place. Agnaev likes to fight in an aggressive manner. None of his four opponents made it to the final bell. In the UFC, such guys are very loved and appreciated. Signing a contract is a matter of time.
Chance to see UFC in next two years: 55%.
Vitaly Minakov
Minakov could have fought in the UFC for a long time and even become a champion. However, contractual problems caused the fighter's career to stall for a long period. The fact is that for four years now Vitaly has not been able to settle relations with the Bellator league. The contract has not been terminated, but Vitaly is not going to fulfill it either due to the fact that the management cannot increase his fee. The heavyweight doesn’t want to fight for pennies. In general, the contract was not terminated. And because of this, Minakov cannot negotiate with the UFC. Vicious circle. Meanwhile, Vitaly is already 32 years old. He still fights in Russia and beats everyone they bring him.
Chance to see UFC in next two years: 5%.
Sergey Pavlovich
The 26-year-old hero, weighing 110 kg and 190 cm tall, crushes all rivals in his path. Pavlovich has a good contract with one of the best promotions in the country and is not yet going to leave his homeland to beat the American and Brazilians in the UFC. Fact: UFC already offered him a contract, but Sergei refused. And he did the right thing. There are significant shortcomings in the athlete's technique. You must first eliminate them, gain experience and become a recognizable fighter not only in Russia, but also in the USA. And only then sign a contract with the UFC.
Chance to see UFC in next two years: 30%.
Match TV keeps detailed statistics of Russian fighters in the UFC and gives an opportunity to look into the eyes of everyone.
The tournament in Moscow became one of the worst for fighters from Russia in terms of the number of defeats: 8 fighters lost (Ibragimov, Popov, Imadaev, Khandozhko, Kopylov, Emeev, Yakovlev and Nurmagomedov) and five won (Khabilov, Magomedsharipov, Volkov, Gamzatov and Ankalaev). Moreover, the defeats turned out to be brighter than the victories, since they were often very unexpected. Two of the three debutants lost: Nurmagomedov and Kopylov, for Kopylov this was the first defeat in his career. Ramazan Emeev lost for the first time in the UFC with three victories, and Zelim Imadaev and Khadis Ibragimov each suffered their second defeat in two fights. On a happy note: Shamil Gamzatov made his debut with a victory and zero defeats in his career. Volkov and Magomedsharipov established themselves in the top 10 of their divisions and, in fact, began an absentee competition to see who would fight for the title faster: Alexander in the heavyweight division or Zabit in the featherweight division.
Up to 56.7 kg
In the top 15: 12th place
He started with combat sambo in the village of Kamysh-Kutan, Akhvakh district, trained for some time in St. Petersburg, but became established as an athlete in Khasavyurt. With age, the fighter began to lose his hearing and by the age of 18-20 he had almost completely lost it. He competed at the Deaflympics in 2017 and became the first in freestyle wrestling. Askarov entered the UFC as the champion of the DIA organization without defeat, and 10 of Askarov’s 10 victories were won ahead of schedule. Askarov's first fight in the UFC was in Mexico City, where it is traditionally difficult to fight due to the high altitude, Askarov met Brandon Moreno and ended the fight in a draw.
Up to 61.2 kg
In the top 15: No
One of the three Nurmagomedovs in the UFC and one of the few Nurmagomedovs in MMA in general who is not related to Khabib’s family. Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar is Sayid's sparring partner and calls him "ninja". In the UFC, Said changed weight categories and moved to 56.7 kg, winning a split decision in the debut, and in the second fight he returned to 61 kg and won by technical knockout, finishing off his opponent after a spectacular roundhouse kick.
In the top 15: 4th place
Yan could end up having the best debut year in UFC history. On June 23, 2018, Peter fought his first fight, and by the evening of June 9, 2019, he already had five victories in the promotion and Yan demanded a title fight from the UFC president. Peter looks like one of the most promising Russians in the UFC. It’s as if all the main qualities of a fighter coexist in him, which are important to develop, but which must be present from the very beginning: Yan is coordinated, trainable and resilient. Provided that the fighter has already suffered (and did not show it) a cruciate ligament injury, and spent less than four minutes on the knockout in his first fight in the UFC.
One more detail: Ian is constantly trying to learn new things - by the age of 26, Peter managed to train in Omsk with Shlemenko and in his club Ermak, in Brazil with Jose Aldo, in Poland with Marcin Held, in America with the UFC Performance Institute, in Khasavyurt - among the wrestlers and in Yekaterinburg, at the Archangel Michael club. Ian's base for training remains the Tiger Club in Thailand.
In the top 15: No
Someone called Grigory Popov the Ruslan Provodnikov of MMA: a fighter who saw everything as a child, “sniffed gasoline, ate from the trash,” became the first representative of the Sakha people in the most popular MMA promotion. In his debut fight, Popov fought brilliantly, but could not win: Eddie Wineland finished the fight with Popov by knockout in the second round.
Up to 65.8 kg
In the top 15: 5th place
Magomedsharipov explained how to fight to be remembered: in the first fight, he threw a billion spectacular kicks and invited Conor McGregor’s Russian-speaking friend, Artem Lobov, to fight. In the second, he showed what happens when you do freestyle wrestling at the same time as kickboxing and again challenged someone right in the octagon. This time, Yair Rodriguez was unlucky. In the third he staged a fight, earned 50 thousand dollars for the best fight of the evening and said that he had broken his arm before the fight. Now Magomedsharipov has brilliant statistics in the UFC, but is a very difficult champion in the weight category.
At the same time, none of the Russians, except Khabib, are higher than him in the ranking of their weight category.
In the top 15: No
Tukhugov called Conor McGregor “the devil,” but in May 2016 he unexpectedly lost to Renato Carneiro at UFC 198. Ostarine was found in his doping tests, but there is a version of dirty sports nutrition, as in the case of boxer Alexander Povetkin. In 2018, Tukhugov still fought in the UFC. This happened at UFC 229 and not during the fight, but after it: Zubaira became the only active promotion fighter (not counting Khabib Nurmagomedov) who was drawn into a brawl by Conor McGregor. Another disqualification made Tukhugov almost the UFC record holder for the longest pause: Tukhugov did not fight for 3 years and 3 months, returned to the UFC in Abu Dhabi, ended the fight in a draw and received a farewell message from Ramzan Kadyrov immediately after the fight.
In the top 15: No
In addition to the gyms in Ingushetia, Movsar Evloev trained in Thailand, which has long become a mandatory program for most MMA fighters, and in the gym of Alexander Shlemenko, which does not happen so often with fighters from the Caucasus.
Before his debut in the UFC, Evloev took part in the filming of a video where fighters were asked to “decipher” the meaning of words popular in St. Petersburg. Movsar’s sense of humor turned out to be better than St. Petersburg’s and, for example, Evloev defined the word “curb” as a light blow to the ribs. And a few days later he won his first fight in the UFC.
Up to 70.3 kg
In the top 15: 15th place.
Islam represented the MMA community in the Meldonium scandal. In the spring of 2016, the fighter was removed from the fight due to residues of the substance in his blood. Fortunately, everything worked out: Makhachev was acquitted, and he won three victories in a row, and Makhachev killed Khabib Nurmagomedov’s former opponent Gleison Tibau 15 times faster than Khabib himself. The knockout happened in the first minute of the fight. Afterwards, the fighters ate ice cream together.
In 2018, Makhachev called out one of Khabib’s main rivals, Tony Ferguson, but you need to read about that. After winning the UFC in Abu Dhabi, Makhachev established himself in the top 15 lightweight rankings: however, Islam is in around 15th place, and at the very top is his childhood friend and sparring partner Khabib Nurmagomedov.
In the top 15: No
The fighter did not compete for two years after losing to Kevin Lee.
In the very first round of the fight (November 19, 2016), I fell on my arm and broke it, I had to have surgery and insert a plate. They did it in Russia, UFC insurance paid for the operation, but the main thing was that the hand did not heal at all, the callus did not appear. I even flew to America, and the doctors there also said that I just had to wait. And I took pictures and saw that the hand was not healing. I had to wait about a year. A year passed, I started training, sparring, they kicked me a couple of times, I blocked with my hand - my hand began to hurt. I went to the doctor and he said: “If you want to fight, you’ll have to take out the plate.” And this, in fact, is the same operation and again rehabilitation for 2-3 months.
In the top 15: champion
You already know everything - the most popular Russian fighter in the UFC and lightweight champion.
In the top 15: No
For some time, Taisumov was seriously involved in football, played for one of the Terek teams, then played in Austria. He had six wins in a row, but for big fights he could not get a) to the USA, b) in the top 15 of his weight, and in both cases due to the lack of a US visa.
The problem was partially resolved at UFC in Abu Dhabi: Mairbek Taisumov lost for the first time since 2014. This was Mairbeck's last fight under his UFC contract, and he promised to think about continuing cooperation.
In the top 15: No
Ismagulov - he does not hesitate to remind about this - was born in the village of Udarnoye (Orenburg region) with 60 households. As befits a good MMA fighter, he does not look threatening - only at the moment when the fight begins, Damir does not get tired, takes punches well and knows how to hit himself. Damir fought his first fight in the UFC with a debutant, whose statistics at that time were 6 wins, 0 losses. In the second, Damir again fought with a newcomer and spoiled the statistics of the Spaniard Joel Alvarez, who now does not really like Russia. Before the fight with Ismagulov, Alvarez lost only in Moscow, to Ali Abdulkhalikov. Damir became one of the rare fighters who challenged a Russian to a fight, but Zubaira Tukhugov refused the fight, and Damir won the UFC in Shenzhen for the third time in his career.
In the top 15: No
The four-sport master has not competed in the UFC since November 2016, citing health problems as the reason. In Russia, Yakovlev will also be remembered as the man who shot two rap videos. In the USA - as the winner of a very serious guy, Gray Maynard. At the tournament in St. Petersburg, Yakovlev returned, won with an unusual submission and looked both incredibly happy and incredibly tired. Yakovlev returned at the tournament in Moscow and lost by decision.
Up to 77.1 kg
In the top 15: 15th place
Omari closed out two defeats by technical knockout with four victories and is now training in one of the best gyms in the USA, American Top Team.
In the top 15: No
In his first fight in the UFC, Abubakar Nurmagomedov had a dream corner: a striking coach - Javier Mendez from the AKA gym, a wrestling coach - uncle Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov and a cousin - Khabib (you know the last name). Besides them, there was another three behind us and she was no longer so impressive. In his last three fights, Abubakar showed three different results: defeat, victory and draw. David Zawada caught a very good chance on the ground and forced Abubakar to submit after a triangle.
In the top 15: No
There is one big news about Imadaev, and this is a quote from his opponent Max Griffin: “This guy is a real idiot! He came up to me at breakfast and began to provoke me, we decided to call the police. Then he tried to start a conflict with me near the bus, but I’m a professional - I don’t want to fight just like that and get disqualified.” This is Griffin talking about Zelim's preparation for his debut fight in the UFC.
Imadaev lost to Griffin via split decision. After that, Zelim had a great fight in Moscow against Danny Roberts and Roberts caught the Russian with a very heavy blow.
In the top 15: No
The only non-Chinese who managed to win the title of “King of Kung Fu” - this is how Wikipedia describes Muslim. Salikhov has a very serious striking technique thanks to his extensive experience in performing in Wushu Sanda. The debut in the UFC was not so successful: the opponent from Canada confidently defended himself during Salikhov’s attacks in the standing position, and in the second round he won by choke hold.
In his third fight in the UFC, Salikhov won
In the top 15: No
The man who was one of the first Russians to bring the famous backbend to the UFC and tested it on Vince Pitchel. Khabilov fought in the main fight with Ben Henderson and lost, after which he lost again and began training with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father. The result is brilliant: three victories in 2016, one in 2017 and one in 2018.
Unfortunately, using the example of Khabilov, it was possible to clearly explain how the UFC treats fighters without an American visa. Rustam was on a six-fight winning streak, competing in the UFC since 2012, but at the tournament in Prague he fought in his second fight from the start of the tournament and did not make it into the top 15 of the lightweight rankings. Testing unknown fighters endlessly proved difficult, and Khabilov lost by decision, losing for the first time since February 2015.
After that, Khabilov moved up to the weight category up to 77 kg and became a participant in the first fight in the UFC between Russians, defeating Sergei Khandozhko.
In the top 15: No
With statistics of 19-1, Sergei Khandozhko signed up for the DIA promotion. The ASV promotion created excellent fights for Russian spectators immersed in MMA and organized a meat grinder for the best fighters from Russia. In the DIA, Sergei’s statistics became 4-4, and no one expected the fighter to appear in the UFC. But Sergei first said that he would think about ending his career, and then he found a secret path and unexpectedly ended up in the most popular MMA organization, even won the first fight there and lost to Rustam Khubilov.
In the top 15: No
Kunchenko does not always fight spectacularly and does not like to speak loudly, but Alexey completed the program at least during his debut in Moscow - by decision of the judges he defeated former title challenger Thiago Alves, and then by decision of himself and his team he challenged Donald Cerrone to a fight. In his second fight in the UFC, Kunchenko destroyed former middleweight title challenger Yushin Okami.
After calling Cerrone, Alexey stopped calling anyone and began to behave inappropriately quiet for a fighter with a record of 20 wins in 20 fights. It ended badly - at an absolutely unnoticed tournament in Uruguay, Alexey lost by decision.
In the top 15: No
Ramazan moved to the UFC from M-1 and had a fairly calm fight. True, the list of aggravating obligations was impressive. Emeeva changed her opponent for the debut - the opponent did not make weight, while Ramazan literally removed five kilograms. Fearing doping tests, Emeev refused sports nutrition and used dates and fat tail.
In the first three fights everything was very good, but in Moscow Ramazan met Tony Martin and the decision went to the fighter from the USA.
Up to 83.9 kg
In the top 15: No
Khalid was sitting on a bench in the courtyard in the center of Makhachkala when he received a call and was told that they were looking for a person in the up to 83.9 kg category for the UFC tournament in Moscow. There was a week left before the tournament. Khalid agreed, performed and defeated CB Dolloway, who celebrated his 10th anniversary in the UFC in 2018.
Then Khalid received a less pleasant call: it became known that USADA found drostanolone in his doping tests and disqualified the fighter for two years.
In the top 15: No
Adam Yandiev did not fight for two years and 11 months, and his appearance in the UFC came as a surprise to many (some time ago, the issue of Adam’s brother, Abukar Yandiev, moving to the UFC seemed resolved), but Adam said that he wants to return to fighting, wrote on Instagram that one of his mentors was ex-UFC champion Vitor Belfort, and performed at the UFC tournament in Russia. It didn’t turn out very well: the matchmakers brought together two fighters with statistics of 9 wins, 0 losses, and after the fight the statistics were 10-0 for Jordan Johnson, and not for Adam Yandiev.
In the top 15: No
Going to the UFC, Kopylov exemplarily beat Yasubi Enomoto in Fight Nights and became the organization’s champion, but the first fight in the most popular promotion hypnotized the fighter from Kemerovo. Kopylov did not understand when to start the attack, he poked his fingers very hard in the eyes, after which he exploded, but the opponent took the initiative and strangled Roman in the third round.
Up to 93 kg
In the top 15: No
Antigulov won the first two fights, strangling his opponents in the first rounds. Then he met with Ion Kutselaba, who did not shake hands with Antigulov at the weigh-in and behaved aggressively. Later, Kutselaba called Antigulov his brother and expressed his respect to him. On the downside, between these two events, Kutselaba defeated Antigulov in the first round.
At a tournament in St. Petersburg, Antigulov decided to fight the Pole Olekseichuk and lost by knockout.
In the top 15: No
Gian Villante smiled affably at the weigh-in for Saparbek (who had previously been remembered at the weigh-in for slapping Tomas Narkun), and then unexpectedly won and ruined the Russian’s debut in the UFC.
In March, Safarov was scheduled to fight kickboxing star Gokhan Saki, but the opponent changed, leading to Safarov's first UFC victory.
In the top 15: No
Magomed Ankalaev has defeated notable opponents at every stage of his career, but in the UFC he could not defeat the invisible ones. Ankalaev beat Vadim Nemkov in the amateurs. Maxim Grishin is a professional. Paul Craig - in his first fight in the UFC, but 10 seconds before the end of the fight, Craig threw a triangle for luck, and a second before the end of the won fight, Ankalaev knocked as a sign of surrender.
Magomed managed to get into the UFC properly only at a tournament in Moscow, where his opponent was defeated already in the first round, and Magomed became the author of the fastest victory in the tournament. The same thing happened at the second Moscow tournament - Magomed hit with a front kick and earned a bonus for the performance of the evening.
In the top 15: 15th place
Krylov had a very interesting achievement: none of his 31 professional fights have yet reached a decision. Nikita fought in the UFC when there were not so many Russian-speaking fighters there, then he left the promotion at a very good moment, when it was possible to earn more in Russia than in America, and returned in 2018, performing at a tournament in Moscow.
In the last fight, Krylov heard the judges’ decision for the first time and it was in favor of the Brazilian Glover Teixeira.
In the top 15: No
Hadith decided to go out on short notice, lose 13 kg in 11 days and compete in China against Da Yong Jung. From the very first minutes, Ibragimov tried to bombard his opponent with accentuated blows, but did not calculate his strength and got tired very quickly. In the third round, the opponent was able to take advantage of this, and Ibragimov joined the fighters who suffered their first defeat in their UFC debut.
After that there was a fight with Ed Herman and Ibragimov gave the audience a bloody fight. Herman's shorts turned red, and Herman himself won a decision.
In the top 15: No
Shamil has experience performing in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and kickboxing, training with UFC champion Jon Jones, and so far only he, Dmitry Sosnovsky, Movsar Evloev, Askar Askarov and Khabib Nurmagomedov have 0 defeats among Russian fighters in the UFC.
Over 93 kg
In the top 15: 9th place
Abdurakhimov had a tough fight with top-10 heavyweight Derrick Lewis, in which he fought and broke both arms. Returned to the Octagon on November 25 and won by knockout in 84 seconds. Then he became the only fighter who won tournaments in Moscow and St. Petersburg - the opponents were Andrei Orlovsky and Marcin Tybura.
At the UFC tournament in Abu Dhabi on September 7, 2019, Abdurakhimov was one of the few Russians who received an opponent ranked higher. Most of Curtis Blaydes' opponents have experienced the same pain point: a former college football player and high-level wrestler, the 230-pound Blaydes demolishes his opponents and finishes them on the ground. The same thing happened with Abdurakhimov.
In the top 15: 11th place
Alexey Oleinik fights in different ways, but almost always there is something to tell about it. He wins for the UFC with moves and loses after very controversial situations. At the end of 2013, Oleinik, by a stroke of luck, replaced Alexander Emelianenko in the main fight of the Legend tournament, forced Mirko Filipovic to surrender and then signed a contract with the UFC.
In 2006, Oleynik was thinking of ending his career; in 2019, he became a fighter who led two Russian UFC tournaments. Having 18 days to prepare, Oleynik accepted a fight with one of the most dangerous strikers in MMA, Alistair Overeem, and showed what defeats a fighter should not be ashamed of. Then I got into a fight with a very powerful guy, Walt Harris, and couldn’t resist.
In the top 15: 6th place
Volkov had a remarkable four-fight win streak and an equal chance of improving it to five. On October 6, 2018, everything was fine: Volkov beat Derrick Lewis for 14 minutes of the fight and was supposed to become one of the contenders for the heavyweight title, but Lewis unexpectedly hit and finished off Alexander on the ground. Thus began the most difficult year in Alexander Volkov’s career. The fight in St. Petersburg was canceled due to health problems, and at the second tournament in Moscow (November 9, 2019), Alexander was supposed to fight in the main fight, but his opponent could not come. As a result, former American football player Greg Hardy became Volkov’s opponent, and 15 minutes was enough for Volkov to tell Hardy something new about MMA.
In the top 15: No
It will be very difficult to choose the most interesting fact for a short description. Sosnovsky beat Alexander Emelianenko in 100 seconds. He is an undefeated heavyweight, and after playing for the Oplot club, many thought that the Russian had Ukrainian citizenship. Sosnovsky could not make his debut in the UFC for a very long time, moreover: before the UFC, Dmitry had a contract with Bellator, where his statistics were ultimately 0-0. Dmitry had his first fight at a tournament in London and was a little nervous, but still won by choke. Nothing is yet known about Sosnovsky’s second fight.
In the top 15: 13th place
Sergey Pavlovich did not feel his opponents in Fight Nights, providing himself with statistics of 12 wins, 0 losses. This inspired his managers to ask for a fight with Alistair Overeem, and the bookmakers to place Pavlovich as the favorite. Everyone made mistakes, and already in the first round Overeem finished off Pavlovich on the ground so that the referee was in a hurry to stop the fight. Pavlovich returned at the tournament in St. Petersburg and, having beaten Marcelo Golm (1-2 in the UFC), said that he had silenced all the critics and armchair pundits.
Girls. Up to 52.1 kg
In the top 15: No
In 2017, Alexandra Albu returned after a long break and was able to win, although she had a very difficult fight. Why did he turn out like this? We need to know the girl's coach. Albu spent 2018 without competing in the UFC. Emily Whitmire lost in 2019.
Up to 61.2 kg
In the top 15: 7th place
Yana Kunitskaya took a break of four years and decided to return to the sport in 2016. Before the break, her statistics were 8-1, after - 2-2. Yana’s career is going amazingly: in her first fight after returning, she lost to 20-year-old Zaira Dyshekova. Then she got into the Invicta organization, seemingly became a champion, but the result of the fight was canceled, considering that Kunitskaya had violated the rules during the fight. In the rematch, the opponent was stronger, but after the rematch, Yana won another fight and ended up in the UFC.
Who performed before
Adam Khaliev 6-0 (0-0 in UFC); spent 4 years under contract with the UFC, but did not perform
