Islam Murtazaev (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Ислам Муртазаев; born April 13, 1991) is a Russian kickboxer and

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, incorpo ...

. As of March 2023, he is ranked as the fourth best middleweight in the world by Beyond Kick.

Biography and career

Early career

Murtazaev grew up in Dagestan where he trained in wrestling before transitioning to Muay Thai at the age of 10. He competed as an amateur until 2016 when he quit his job as an oil and gas extraction engineer and moved to Thailand. On November 18, 2017, Murtazaev took part in the EM Legend -75 kg World Tournament finals. In the semi-finals he defeated

Jordan Tai Jordan Tai (born 21 March 1982) is a New Zealand welterweight kickboxer and a middleweight boxer. He is a two time K-1 MAX New Zealand champion who competed in World Elite of K-1 MAX and a New Zealand Boxing Champion. Titles * 2016 New Z ...

by decision to reach the final. He faced Rungrawee Sitsongpeenong, after 3 rounds the judges declared the fight a draw, an extra round was fought which Murtazaev won to capture the title. On April 8, 2016, Murtazaev took part in the 2016 Kunlun Fight -75 kg World Tournament. He faced Alim Nabiev in the final 16 round and was eliminated after losing the fight by unanimous decision. On November 30, 2018, Murtazaev faced Omar Moreno in a KOK World Series event in Spain. He won the fight with by tornado kick knockout in the first round. Murtazaev faced Chanajon P.K. Saenchai Muaythaigym at THAI FIGHT Chiang Mai on December 23, 2017. He lost the fight by decision. Murtazaev faced Omar Moreno in his King of Kings debut at KOK World Series on November 30, 2018. He won the fight by a first-round knockout. Murtazaev was booked to face Sher Mamazulunov at Wu Lin Feng 2019: WLF China vs Russia on September 20, 2019, in an WLF-Orion cross-promotional event. Murtazaev won the fight by unanimous decision. The bout was later awarded "Fight of the Year" honors at the 2019 "The Orion Awards".

ONE Championship

Murtazaev challenged

Regian Eersel Regian Eersel (born 16 December 1992) is a Surinamese-Dutch kickboxer currently signed to ONE Championship. He is the current ONE Lightweight Kickboxing and Muay Thai World Champion. He is ranked as the best welterweight in the world by Combat ...

for the ONE Lightweight World Championship at ONE: Winter Warriors on December 3, 2021. He lost the bout via split decision. Murtazaev was expected to face the former Glory Welterweight Champion

Nieky Holzken Nicolaas Hubertus Holzken (born December 16, 1983) is a Dutch super middleweight kickboxer and professional boxer currently signed to ONE Championship, where he competes in the Lightweight division. He is the former Glory Welterweight Champion. ...

at ONE: X on March 26, 2022. The bout was later cancelled, as all Russian fighters were removed from ONE events taking place in Singapore. Murtazaev was expected to face Sinsamut Klinmee at ONE 159 on July 22, 2022. Murtazaev later withdrew because of a "family emergency" and was replaced by Liam Nolan. Murtazaev was expected to face the former Glory welterweight champion

ONE 162 ''ONE 162: Zhang vs. Di Bella'' was a Combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on October 21, 2022 at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Background A ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Championship bout for the ...

on October 21, 2022. Holzken withdrew with an injury on October 17 and was replaced by

Constantin Rusu Constantin Rusu (born May 17, 1994) is a Moldovan kickboxer, currently competing in the lightweight division of ONE Championship. He is the former KOK and FEA welterweight champion. A professional competitor since 2016, Rusu has also competed for ...

. Murtazaev lost the fight by unanimous decision. Murtazaev faced Ahmet Kılıç at REN TV Fight Club on November 18, 2022. He won the fight by a first-round knockout. Murtazaev challenged Sergey Ponomarev for the Russian National -86 kg title at REN TV Fight Club on February 17, 2023. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Titles and accomplishments

Professional

EM Legend EM Legend (EML) (Chinese: 峨眉传奇; pinyin: Éméi Chuánqí), is a Kickboxing and Muaythai fight promotion headquartered in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. The first event was held in Emei, China on June 6, 2014. In the first 5 yea ...

** 2017 EM Legend World -75 kg Champion *Russian Kickboxing Federation ** 2023 Russian K-1 -86 kg Championship

Amateur

International Federation of Muaythai Associations The International Federation of Muaythai Associations, or IFMA, called the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur until 27 July 2019, is the sole recognised sport governing body of amateur and professional Muay Thai and Muay boran consist ...

** 2015 IFMA World Championship -75 kg *

World Muaythai Federation The World Muaythai Federation was formed in 1995 by the Professional Boxing Association of Thailand (PAT). The PAT is the only organization officially recognized by the Thai government. The WPMF was founded to promote and support Muaythai worldwid ...

** 2016 WMF World Championship Pro-Am -75 kg Champion Awards * 2019 Orion Awards Fight of the Year (vs. Sher Mamazulunov)

Mixed martial arts record

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Yerevan, Armenia Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

Muay Thai & Kickboxing record

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Minsk, Belarus Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the adm ...

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Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

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Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, , Decision , , 3 , , 3:00 , - align="center" bgcolor="#cfc" , 2017-12-02, , Win , , align=left, Tang Xiaofeng , , EM Legend 26 , ,

Emei Mount Emei (; ), alternately Mount Omei, is a mountain in Sichuan Province, China, and is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Mount Emei sits at the western rim of the Sichuan Basin. The mountains west of it are know ...

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Zunyi Zunyi () is a prefecture-level city in northern Guizhou province, People's Republic of China, situated between the provincial capital Guiyang to the south and Chongqing to the north, also bordering Sichuan to the northwest. Along with Guiyang an ...

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Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

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Sudsakorn Sor Klinmee Sudsakorn Sor Klinmee ( Thai: สุดสาคร ส.กลิ่นมี; born August 25, 1986) is a Thai Muay Thai kickboxer and the reigning Lion Fight Middleweight Champion. He is a former Thai Fight Junior Middleweight Kard Chuek Champi ...

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Xining Xining (; ), alternatively known as Sining, is the capital of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. The city was a commercial hub along the Northern Silk Road's Hexi Corridor for over 2000 years, and w ...

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Hamza Ngoto Hamza Ngoto (born September 13, 1990) is a French Muay Thai kickboxer who won the WBC Muay Thai super middleweight title in 2018. Muay thai career Ngoto participated in the 2016 MAX Muay Thai tournament. He defeated Islam Murtazaev by decision ...

, , MAX Muay Thai, , Pattaya,

, , Decision , , 3 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor="#fbb" , 2013-08-31, , Loss , , align=left, Anatoly Moiseev , , Oracul Fight Zone 2013, ,

, , Decision (Unanimous), , 3 , , 3:00 , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'': , - style="background:#cfc;" , 2016-03-21, , Win, , align=left, Marc Sauterg , , 2016 WMF World Championship, Final , ,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

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, , Decision , , 3 , , 3:00 , - style="background:#cfc;" , 2015-08-, , Win, , align=left, Derek Jolivette , , 2015 IFMA World Championship, Quarter-final , ,

, , TKO , , 1 , , , - style="background:#cfc;" , 2015-08-, , Win, , align=left, Mausuzbek , , 2015 IFMA World Championship, Round of 16 , ,

, , Decision , , 3 , , 3:00 , - , - style="background:#fbb;" , 2015-03-16 , , Loss , , align=left, Nikolai Vasilenko, , 2015 Russian Cup , ,

, , Decision , , 3 , , 3:00 , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

References

External links

Official ONE Championship profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murtazaev, Islam 1991 births Living people Russian male kickboxers Lightweight kickboxers Welterweight kickboxers Russian male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Russian Muay Thai practitioners ONE Championship kickboxers Sportspeople from Dagestan 20th-century Russian people 21st-century Russian people