Alexander Romanov (born December 11, 1990) is a Moldovan

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

and

freestyle wrestler Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling i ...

, who competes in the heavyweight division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). As of March 13, 2023, he is #15 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.

Wrestling career

Romanov started training in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

at age seven. He has made four Moldovan

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

Teams (two as a senior and two as a junior) and eight

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

Teams (five as a senior, three as an age-group wrestler). His best result has been a bronze medal at the 2016 World University Championships. His last performance to date took place at the

2020 European Wrestling Championships The 2020 European Wrestling Championships was held in Rome, Italy between 10 and 16 February 2020. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women's freestyle References External linksOfficial ...

, where he placed twelfth. He is also a two-time UWW

grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...

European bronze medalist. Romanov studied at law faculty of

Comrat State University ro, Universitatea de Stat din Comratrussian: Комратский государственный университет , image_name = Universitatea de Stat din Comrat.png , image_size = 150px , image_alt ...

and pedagogical faculty of

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

Sport Institute. Alexandr Romanov also competed in

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

for a brief time. While his time in the sport was not long, he won silver in the OPEN European Cup in 2016.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Early in his career after his stint in wrestling, Romanov found Chesea Eduard, a Muay Thai coach. Eduard brought Romanov into the sport of MMA and remains his coach to this day. Romanov compiled a record of 11 wins and no losses while competing in his native

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

, primarily at Eagles Fighting Championship, where he became the heavyweight champion.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Romanov signed with the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

on October 3, 2019, and was later scheduled to make his debut against

Raphael Pessoa Raphael Pessoa (born March 9, 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA). He also formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts c ...

on April 25, 2020. However, the event was subsequently cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Romanov was then slated to face

Marcin Tybura Marcin Tybura (born November 9, 1985) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2011, Tybura previously fought fo ...

on July 12, 2020, at

UFC 251 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. However, Romanov was removed from the card on July 1, due to a positive

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

test. He was then scheduled to face

Marcos Rogério de Lima Marcos Rogério de Lima (born May 25, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2009, he formerly competed for Strikeforce, Shooto, and was a co ...

on September 5, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Sakai, but the bout was scratched the day of the event when Lima tested positive for COVID-19. Romanov eventually made his debut on September 12, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill, when he defeated

Roque Martinez Roque Martinez (born March 4, 1986) is a Guamanian mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division. He has formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Rizin Fighting Federation. Background Born and raised on Guam unt ...

via

arm-triangle choke Arm triangle choke, side choke, or head and arm choke are generic terms describing blood chokeholds in which the opponent is strangled in between their own shoulder and the practitioner's arm. This is as opposed to the regular triangle choke, whi ...

in the second round. Next, he faced

on November 7, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira. He defeated Lima with the first forearm choke in UFC history, on the first round, to claim

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

honors. Romanov faced

Juan Espino Juan Espino (born 9 October 1980) is a Spanish retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight (MMA), heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Grappling Juan Espino started in Canarian wres ...

on April 17, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum. During the beginning of the third round, Espino accidentally connected with a knee to the groin of Romanov, who could not continue. Romanov was declared the winner via technical split decision. 6 out of 8 media scores gave it to Espino, with the other two declaring it a Draw. Romanov faced

Jared Vanderaa Jared Vanderaa (born May 12, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Vanderaa was born in Washington but moved around a lot with his mother in pursuit of ...

on October 9, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. Romanov was next expected to face

Ilir Latifi Ilir Latifi (born July 28, 1983) is a Swedish mixed martial artist who previously fought in the Heavyweight division of the UFC. A two-time national wrestling champion and a professional MMA competitor since 2008, Latifi has also competed in Sha ...

UFC Fight Night 202 ''UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 202'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 60'' and ''UFC Vegas 49'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 26, 2022 at the U ...

on February 19, 2022. However, the bout was cancelled for undisclosed reasons. Replacing

Rodrigo Nascimento Rodrigo Nascimento Ferreira (born November 26, 1992) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born in Belo Horizonte, Nascimento met his mentor, Everton Rabel ...

, Romanov is scheduled to face

Tanner Boser Tanner Vilbon Nicholas Boser (born August 2, 1991) is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who is currently signed to the UFC Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight division. He had previously competed for Unified MMA, where he won the ...

on April 23, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 205 ''UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 205'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 63'' or ''UFC Vegas 52'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 23, 2022, at the UF ...

. However, on April 18, it was announced that Boser was out of the fight due to an injury. He was replaced by

Chase Sherman Chase Sherman (born November 16, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former bare-knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2014, he has competed for the UFC and Titan FC. Background Born and raised in D'Iberville, ...

. However, Sherman was deemed unable to compete due to a minor health issue on the day of the event and the fight was cancelled and the pair was rescheduled for

UFC on ESPN 35 ''UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Vera'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 35'' and ''UFC Vegas 53'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 30, 2022, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Neva ...

. Romanov won the bout via keylock submission in the first round. Romanov faced

on August 20, 2022 at

UFC 278 ''UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 20, 2022, at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Background The event marked the promotion' ...

. Romanov lost the fight via a controversial majority decision. 17 of 18 MMA media outlets scored the bout as a draw. Romanov faced Alexander Volkov on March 11, 2023 at

UFC Fight Night 221 ''UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 221'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 79'' and ''UFC Vegas 71'') is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on March 11, 20 ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the first round.

Personal life

Romanov was born and raised in Moldova to a Russian father and Ukrainian mother. He and his wife have three children.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

(One time) vs.

* Eagles Fighting Championship ** EFC Heavyweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 16–2 , Alexander Volkov , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:16 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–1 ,

, Decision (majority) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–0 ,

, Submission (keylock) , UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Vera , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:11 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–0 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:43 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–0 ,

, Technical Decision (split) , UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:05 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–0 ,

, Technical Submission (forearm choke) , UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:48 ,

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–0 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:22 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Sérgio Freitas , TKO (submission to injury) , Eagles FC 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:28 ,

, Moldova , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Sultan Murtazaliev , TKO (punches) , Eagles FC 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:17 ,

, Moldova , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 ,

Virgil Zwicker Virgil Zwicker, (born June 26, 1982), is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2003, Zwicker has formerly competed for Bellator MMA, Strikeforce and KSW. B ...

, Submission (neck crank) , S-70: Plotforma Cup 2018 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 ,

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Ion Grigore , Submission (forearm choke) , Eagles FC 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:54 ,

, Moldova , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Alexander Stolyarov , TKO (punches) , Eagles FC 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 ,

, Moldova , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Ravshankhon Khusanov , TKO (punches) , Eagles FC 7 , , align=Center, 1 , align=center, 1:37 ,

, Moldova , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Yuri Gorbenko , Submission (forearm choke) , Eagles FC 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:43 ,

, Moldova , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Evgeniy Golub , TKO (punches) , Eagles FC 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:48 ,

, Moldova , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Shota Betlemidze , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ProFC Ukraine: Brave Hearts , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:56 , Nikolaev, Ukraine , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Andrey Burdiniuk , Submission (neck crank) , Eagles FC 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:43 ,

, Moldova , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Yuriy Protsenko , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Eagles FC 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 ,

, Moldova ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Romanov, Alexander 1990 births Living people Moldovan male mixed martial artists Moldovan people of Russian descent Moldovan people of Ukrainian descent Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Sumo Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Moldovan male sport wrestlers Wrestlers at the 2015 European Games 20th-century Moldovan people 21st-century Moldovan people