5 Best Russian UFC Fighters
Russia isn’t all about Vladimir Putin or the Vodka. The largest nation of the world is known to produce some of the toughest men in the world akin their polarizing leader. You may have heard it a thousand times before; Russians are as tough as nails and it’s all attributed to a rigorous training system and the ruffian culture in general.
Russian pioneers Vasili Oshchepkov and Viktor Spiridonov developed Sambo – a Russian martial arts form – in the 1920s with an aim to integrate elements of Judo, Catch-wrestling, Jujutsu and other notable martial arts from around the globe. And how can we forget the country’s rich boxing heritage and its consistency in creating prolific pugilists?
The country’s opulent combat lineage has enabled many Russians to successfully ply their trade in the USA, and while the Russian boxers have been quite popular since the Rocky days, Russian MMA fighters have also dominated the world of MMA since the inception of the sport. However, isn’t it strange that UFC got their first Russian Champion in 2018 in Khabib Nurmagomedov? If only Fedor Emelianenko had jumped over to the UFC in his heyday, the story may have been completely different.
Nonetheless, UFC has had some notable talents from Russia over the years and even in the current setup, have exciting prospects from the Motherland who could be a part of the Russian wave that’s expected to take over the biggest MMA promotion in the near future. Let’s have a look at those talents in this slider:
Honorable Mentions:
Andrei Semenov (34-9-2, 1-1 in the UFC, currently semi-retired)
Ali Bagautinov (18-6, 7-3 UFC, Former UFC Flyweight title Contender, currently fights in the regional scene in Russia)
Zabit Magomedsharipov (17-1, 13-fight win streak, a bright prospect currently ranked #6 in the UFC Featherweight Rankings)
#5 Mairbek Taisumov (28-5)
Mairbek ‘Beckan’ Taisumov’s would be one frustrated individual. Known as ‘The Newcomer Killer’, Taisumov’s UFC career has been marred by injuries and tiresome visa issues. He has been removed from as many as three fights due to alleged visa issues and has had a mere 8 fights since he joined the UFC’s Lightweight division in 2014.
Even though Taisumov is on a 6-fight win streak, he missed weight by almost 6 pounds in his recent unanimous decision win against Desmond Green at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Oleinik in September 2018. Ignore the setbacks as the former M1-Global talent has the legitimate capability. The Russian-Austrian fighter of Chechen ethnicity has been in the top-15 Lightweight UFC rankings just once in his UFC career with 3 Performance of Night bonuses and 5 finishes in his last six fights.
In order to live up to his explosive potential, Taisumov should first consider moving up to Welterweight and by all means, get his visa difficulties sorted out.