Blagoy Ivanov ( bg, Благой Александров Иванов; born October 9, 1986) is a Bulgarian mixed martial artist and

Sambo , aka = Sombo (in English-speaking countries) , focus = Hybrid , country = Soviet Union , pioneers = Viktor Spiridonov, Vasili Oshchepkov, Anatoly Kharlampiev , famous_pract = List of Practitioners , oly ...

practitioner. He is currently signed to 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), where he competes in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division. He was the 2008 Combat Sambo World Champion and the former

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by Venture capital, venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fight ...

Heavyweight champion. As of December 13, 2022, he is #15 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.

Background

Blagoy has competed in Judo as a heavyweight national representative for Bulgaria. He competed in the 2003 Balkan Junior Championships and placed first. He then continued in competition up to the European Championships level but only placed 7th in the 2007 U23 Tournament, and did not make an attempt to represent Bulgaria in the 2008 Olympic games. Ivanov chose to enter into a career in

mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

as opposed to representing Bulgaria in the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Sambo career

He notably defeated four-time World Combat Sambo Champion and mixed-martial arts fighter

Fedor Emelianenko Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko ( rus, Фёдор Влади́мирович Емелья́ненко, r=Fyodor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko, p=ˈfʲɵdər vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ jɪmʲɪˈlʲjænʲɪnkə, IPA; born ...

in the semi-finals of the 2008 World Sambo Championships on November 16, 2008. (He went on to win the finals over Germany's Janosch Stefan the following day.) Ivanov previously faced Emelianenko in February 2008 at Russia's Presidents Cup Sambo competition, losing the match to Emelianenko.

Mixed martial arts career

Ivanov started a career in mixed martial arts in his home country (2 wins and 1 NC) before going to

World Victory Road World Victory Road (WVR) is a defunct Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization which promoted the Sengoku Raiden Championship (SRC) in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of PRIDE FC by Zuffa. It operated in ...

, where he signed a three-fight deal. His first fight took place at

Sengoku 9 ''World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 9'' was a mixed martial arts event promoted by World Victory Road on August 2, 2009. It featured the final round of WVR's 2009 Featherweight Grand-Prix. This event was broadcast in North America via tape de ...

where he defeated

Pride FC PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

veteran,

Kazuyuki Fujita is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a one-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has most recently fought in Road FC, but is also known for his ...

by split decision, breaking both hands in the process. Ivanov was set next to face Fedor's brother, Aleksander Emelianenko, but that fight and eventually the entire event on which the fight should have occurred was canceled because Blagoy had broken both his hands in the fight against Fujita and was not able to heal and prepare properly for his fight with Aleksander. Recently, in the capital city of Bulgaria -

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, Bagata defeated another well-known Bulgarian MMA fighter Svetoslav Zahariev who was European champion in grappling, heavyweight division. In the interview given after the fight, Bagata said that he was ready for a rematch with Svetoslav, but also with his brother, who is a fighter too. He added that he needs more easy matches like the last one in order to get in shape for the real challenges. According to Blagoy, in December 2010 he would go to fight and train in Las Vegas, USA.

Bellator MMA

On March 15, 2011, Ivanov announced that he had signed a deal to fight for Bellator. He debuted on March 26, 2011, at Bellator 38 against William Penn and won via first-round TKO. Ivanov was expected to face

Thiago Santos Thiago Santos de Lima (born January 7, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), competing in the light heavyweight division. Prior to signing with the PFL, Santos competed for the Ult ...

as part of a quarterfinals tournament at Bellator 52 on October 1 at the L'Audberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, La. The tournament was to determine a No. 1 contender to face champion

Cole Konrad Minnesota Golden Gophers Cole Konrad (born April 2, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter. Konrad won a gold medal at the 2005 Pan-American Championships. He won the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, NCA ...

. Santos, however, was unable to travel from Brazil for the event and was replaced by

Zak Jensen ''The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights'' is the tenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series '' The Ultimate Fighter''. In a press conference following ''UFC 98'', Dana White announced that filmin ...

. Ivanov defeated Jensen by technical submission due to a guillotine choke at 2:35 into round 2. The 2008 Combat Sambo World Champion Ivanov used superior boxing technique, speed, and accuracy to bloody the face, Jensen, in round one. Jensen offered little offense, and it bordered on a 10–8 round. An outside trip takedown from Ivanov started off the second frame, where he immediately began to crank on an Americana attempt. Jensen gave up full mount attempting to defend. Eventually, Jensen was able to scramble out, but as he drove forward attempting to push Ivanov against the fence he left his neck exposed. Ivanov locked in a tight guillotine choke that left Jensen unconscious and unable to tap. The impressive performance from Ivanov furthers his career-winning streak to eleven. On 24 Dec 2011, Ivanov defeated

Ricco Rodriguez Ricco Rodriguez (born August 19, 1977) is an American semi-retired mixed martial artist currently competing in the heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 1999, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, EliteXC, I ...

in the third round via TKO with a kick to the upper body that some felt hit Rodriguez's head, as he was still getting up from his knees. The fight took place in Chekhov, Moscow suburb, and Ivanov fought under the Russian banner.

Return to MMA

Ivanov returned to MMA competition after a 21-month absence due to injuries sustained in a bar fight and fought Manny Lara on September 13, 2013 at

Bellator 99 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five Mixed martial arts weight classes, weight classes and all of the ch ...

. He won the fight via submission in the first round. Ivanov next fought on November 22, 2013, at

Bellator 109 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

and faced Keith Bell. Ivanov was initially dropped by Bell early into the fight, but recovered and won the fight via submission. In March 2014, Ivanov returned to the Heavyweight division. He faced

Rich Hale Richard "Rich" Hale (born May 17, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional since 2006, he is perhaps best known for his 10-fight stint with Bellator MMA, and made it to the finals ...

in the opening round of the Bellator Season 10 Heavyweight tournament at

Bellator 111 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweight, ...

on March 7, 2014. He won the fight via unanimous decision. He faced

Lavar Johnson Lavar F. Johnson (born June 11, 1977) is an American bare-knuckle boxer and former Heavyweight mixed martial artist. A professional from 2004 until 2014, he competed for the UFC, the WEC, Strikeforce and Bellator MMA. Background Johnson is ...

in the semifinals at

Bellator 116 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweigh ...

on April 11, 2014 and won via submission in the first round. He faced Alexander Volkov in the tournament final on May 17, 2014 at

Bellator 120 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweigh ...

. He lost the fight via submission in the second round, resulting in his first professional loss.

World Series of Fighting

On January 24, 2015 it was announced that Ivanov signed with WSOF. In his debut, Ivanov faced Smealinho Rama for the WSOF Heavyweight championship at WSOF 21 on June 5, 2015 He won the fight and championship due to a submission in the third round. Ivanov made his first title defense against

Derrick Mehmen Derrick Mehmen (born May 30, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division for the Titan Fighting Championships. A professional competitor since 2006, Mehmen has also made appearances in S ...

at WSOF 24 on October 17, 2015. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. For his second title defense, Ivanov faced Josh Copeland at WSOF 31 on June 17, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision (49–46, 49–46, and 48–47). For his third title defense, Ivanov faced

Shawn Jordan Shawn Martin Jordan (born October 24, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Professional Fighters League's Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2009, Jordan has also formerly competed for ...

. The bout was originally scheduled for February 28 (incorrectly reported as Feb 25) but was rescheduled to March 18, 2017. Ivanov won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On April 25, 2018, it was reported that Ivanov was signed by

. He made his UFC debut against former

UFC Heavyweight champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

Junior dos Santos Junior dos Santos (; born 30 January 1984) is a Brazilian Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division of Eagle FC. As a mixed martial ar ...

on July 14 at

UFC Fight Night 133 ''UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Ivanov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 133'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on July 14, 2018 at CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho, United States. ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. In his second fight for the promotion, Ivanov faced

Ben Rothwell Ben Rothwell (born October 17, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a Heavyweight. He most notably had a 17 bout stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and competed for the Quad Cities Silverbacks of the IFL where he h ...

on March 9, 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 146 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 146'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 4'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 9, 2019 at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. In his third fight with the company, Ivanov faced

Tai Tuivasa Tai Anthony Tuivasa (born 16 March 1993) is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 6, 2022, he is #5 in the UFC heavyweight ...

on June 8, 2019 at

UFC 238 ''UFC 238: Cejudo vs. Moraes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 8, 2019 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Bantamweight Champi ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Ivanov faced

Derrick Lewis Derrick James Lewis (born February 7, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he currently holds the record for most knockouts ...

on November 2, 2019 at

UFC 244 ''UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 2, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. It was the UFC's ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. Ivanov was scheduled to face

Augusto Sakai Augusto Sakai (born May 19, 1991) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who formerly competed in Bellator MMA and is now competing in the Heavyweight division of the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Early career Sakai made his professional MMA d ...

on May 9, 2020 at

UFC 250 ''UFC 250: Nunes vs. Spencer'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 6, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. However, on April 9,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed and the bout eventually took place on May 30, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns. He lost the fight via a split decision. Ivanov was expected 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 March 27, 2021 at

UFC 260 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, Ivanov was pulled from the bout, citing injury. Ivanov faced

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 May 7, 2022 at

UFC 274 ''UFC 274: Oliveira vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 7, 2022, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Background The event was originally linke ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Ivanov is scheduled to face

on February 4, 2023 at

UFC Fight Night 218 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivak'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 218'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 76'' and ''UFC Vegas 68'') is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on February 4, 202 ...

Bar fight incident

In the early morning of February 26, 2012, a group of eight men entered the bar "Ice" in Sofia and attacked Ivanov and his two friends. Ivanov was stabbed below the

sternum The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels from injury. Sh ...

and a lung was damaged. He fought off all the attackers and hailed a cab to the hospital. He was in the intensive care unit after six hours of life-saving medical intervention at Sofia's

Pirogov Hospital Pirogov Hospital ( bg, Болница Пирогов) is a hospital for active treatment and emergency medicine in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It was founded in 1951 and has a capacity of 795 hospital beds, 33 clinics and departments and emp ...

, his condition stabilized with the aid of an artificial respirator. He remained in critical care for several weeks. The police apprehended a 23-year-old suspect, nicknamed Dampela ("The Dumbbell") with a long criminal record, and charged him with the stabbing. Bulgaria's Interior Minister,

Tsvetan Tsvetanov Tsvetan Genchev Tsvetanov ( bg, Цветан Генчев Цветанов; born 8 April 1965) is a Bulgarian politician and former government official. A former security deputy mayor of Sofia, he was, until 2009, the chairman of the GERB party. ...

, used the speed of the arrest as an argument for success in the country's battle against organized crime, in a speech two days after the attack. On March 5, 2012, Ivanov was reported to be in stable condition, having regained consciousness over the weekend. While his life was still considered to be in danger, he was switched to a milder treatment regimen. Dampela claimed that Ivanov initiated the fight, at one point slapping Dampela in the face. Dampela had a criminal record of extortion, drug dealing, and fraudulent car registration. The defense claimed that Dampela did not know he stabbed Ivanov and went to the police immediately after finding out he did. The prosecution claimed that Dampela bragged about the incident and picked the fight with Ivanov in a drunken rage. On March 12, 2012, Ivanov's condition deteriorated. A second surgery was performed and he was placed in an artificial coma. On May 19 Ivanov had been taken out of a medically induced coma, and had spoken with doctors. He was expected to make a full recovery in six months to a year. Dampela remained in permanent detention. Around May 12, 2012, Ivanov regained the ability to talk and gave a brief press conference on the 19th in the hospital. He declared that he wanted to return to the ring and the doctors confirmed that he would be able to recover in six months to a year. On May 28, Ivanov left the hospital's intensive care unit. He stated that he wanted to return to competition and doctors confirmed that he could return the next year. Ivanov made his MMA return in September 2013 and won his next four fights.

Championships and Accomplishments

* WSOF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Three Successful Title Defenses Professional Fighters League * PFL Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * One Successful Title Defense

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

* Bellator Season 10 Heavyweight Tournament: Runner-Up World Sambo Championships *World Champion: 2008 St. Petersburg *World Semi-Finalist: 2006 Sofia

Mixed martial arts record

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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 ...

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Kamen Georgiev Kamen Georgiev ( bg, Камен Георгиев) is a Bulgarian MMA fighter who competes in the Light heavyweight division. World MMA title holder under ISFA rules 2016. MMA ASF PRO (Light-heavywei ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanov, Blagoy 1986 births Living people Bulgarian male mixed martial artists Bulgarian sambo practitioners Heavyweight mixed martial artists Sportspeople from Sofia Bulgarian male judoka People from Sandanski Big Brother (Bulgarian TV series) contestants Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing sambo Mixed martial artists utilizing judo 21st-century Bulgarian people

Background

Sambo career

Mixed martial arts career

Bellator MMA

Return to MMA

World Series of Fighting

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Bar fight incident

Championships and Accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links