Kamal Shalorus (; born 26 August 1973) is an Iranian-born British professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division of ONE Championship. A professional competitor since 2008, Shalorus has also formerly competed for the UFC and the WEC.

Early life

Sahlorus was born in an isolated rural hut near the village of Khalkhal in Ardabil Province. Kamal is a wrestler, and he represented Great Britain in an Olympic Qualification tournament where he placed 8th. He has also competed in grappling tournaments. He has a notable win over Joachim Hansen in the European Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Qualifiers.

Mixed martial arts career

Kamal trains Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with WEC veteran and Relson Gracie Black Belt

Phil Cardella Phil Ryan Cardella (born July 9, 1976) is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He formerly fought as a lightweight in the World Extreme Cagefighting organization. All but one of Cardella’s triumphs have come by first-round submission. He ...

. He has also had in-person training with Relson Gracie in Hawaii, in addition to 5x BJJ World Champ Daniel Moraes and Henry Akins. Kamal also trains in catch wrestling and MMA with Neil Melanson and Randy Couture at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Kamal also hired Laren Umphlett, one of Karl Gotch's last students, to be a grappling coach at his gym Arte Training Center in Austin Texas. Kamal is a partner in (and official grappling instructor for) the

American Combat Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and he certifies MMA schools in his fighting system SICS and conducts seminars focused on catch wrestling through the ACA. Kamal captured the welterweight title in the Austin Texas MMA promotion King of Kombat in April 2008, still undefeated. He then won the welterweight title in the Supreme Warrior Challenge, preparing his way into the WEC.

World Extreme Cagefighting

He was scheduled to make his WEC debut against Alex Karalexis on November 18, 2009 at WEC 44, but a broken hand forced Karalexis off the card. Karalexis was replaced by WEC newcomer

Will Kerr Will Kerr (born October 21, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2010, he competed for World Extreme Cagefighting. Mixed martial arts career World Extreme Cagefighting Kerr made his WEC debu ...

. Shalorus defeated Kerr via TKO in the very first round. Shalorus defeated previously unbeaten Dave Jansen via unanimous decision on January 10, 2010 at WEC 46. Shalorus showed impressive striking, takedown offense and defense. It was also noted, by Frank Mir, that Shalorus would be a force to be reckoned with in the future. Shalorus was expected to face former WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner on April 24, 2010 at WEC 48, but Shalorus was forced off of the card with an injury. Varner/Shalorus took place on June 20, 2010 at WEC 49. The fight ended in a split draw (29–27 Varner, 29–27 Shalorus, and 28–28), with Shalorus being docked one point for multiple groin strikes. Kamal Shalorus was expected to face

Bart Palaszewski Bart K. Palaszewski (; born May 30, 1983) is a retired Polish-American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the UFC's Featherweight division. A professional competitor from 2002 until 2014, Palaszewski has also formerly ...

on November 11, 2010 at WEC 52, but the bout was moved to WEC 53 after Shalorus reinjured his hand that was broken during the bout with Varner. Shalorus won the fight via split decision (30–27, 28–29, and 29–28).

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In October 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. Shalorus was the third Iranian fighter to ever compete for the UFC; the other two being Reza Nasri, and Reza Madadi. In his UFC debut, Shalorus faced Jim Miller on March 19, 2011 at

UFC 128 ''UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 19, 2011, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background This event was expected to take place in Abu Dha ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round, the first loss of his professional career. Shalorus next faced promotional newcomer and future UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov on January 20, 2012 at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller. He lost the fight via submission in the third round. Shalorus faced Rafael dos Anjos on May 15, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier. After being dropped with a head kick, Shalorus was submitted via rear naked choke in the first round and was subsequently released from the promotion.

ONE Fighting Championship

Nearly a year after being released from the UFC, Shalorus signed with the Asia's biggest MMA promotion,

ONE FC ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its eve ...

promotion. He made his promotional debut against

Eduard Folayang Eduard Folayang (born November 22, 1983) is a Filipino mixed martial artist and wushu practitioner who fights in ONE Championship, where he is a two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion. He also competed for Universal Reality Comba ...

at ONE Fighting Championship 9 on May 31, 2013 and won the fight via unanimous decision. Kamal faced Ariel Sexton on March 14, 2014 at ONE Fighting Championship 14. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Shalorus faced current champion Shinya Aoki on August 29, 2014 at ONE Fighting Championship 19. He lost the fight via submission in the first round.

Professional wrestling

On February 25, 2015 it was announced by the American Combat Association that Kamal is also beginning a career in a professional wrestling and is available for professional wrestling bookings

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 9–5–2 , Ev Ting , Decision (split) , ONE: Throne of Tigers , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–4–2 , Shinya Aoki , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE FC: Reign of Champions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:15 , Dubai, UAE , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3–2 , Ariel Sexton , Decision (unanimous) , ONE FC: War of Nations , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , ONE FC: Rise to Power , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Pasay, Philippines , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–3–2 , Rafael dos Anjos , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on Fuel TV: The Korean Zombie vs. Poirier , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 , Fairfax, Virginia, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2–2 , Khabib Nurmagomedov , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:08 , Nashville, Tennessee, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1–2 , Jim Miller , TKO (knee and punches) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:15 , Newark, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0–2 ,

, Decision (split) , WEC 53 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the la ...

, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 6–0–2 , Jamie Varner , Draw (split) , WEC 49 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Edmonton, Alberta, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0–1 , Dave Jansen , Decision (unanimous) , WEC 46 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Sacramento, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , WEC 44 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:26 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0–1 , Justin Miller , TKO (punches) , Supreme Warrior Championship 7: Discountenance , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:32 , Frisco, Texas, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 3–0–1 ,

Mike Bronzoulis Mikel "Mike" Bronzoulis (born January 5, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight division of Bellator. A professional competitor since 2007, Bronzoulis has competed for Strikeforce, Legacy FC, Ti ...

, Draw (majority) , King of Kombat 6: Fists of Fury , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 , Austin, Texas, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jonathan Evans , TKO (punches) , Extreme Challenge: War at the Shore , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:35 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Edwyn Jones , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Supreme Warrior Championship 2: Battlegrounds , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:52 , Frisco, Texas, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jeff Davis , TKO (punches) , King of Kombat 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:06 , Austin, Texas, United States ,

References

External links

Official UFC Profile
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shalorus, Kamal Living people 1977 births English male mixed martial artists Iranian male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing catch wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu British male sport wrestlers Iranian catch wrestlers People from Khalkhal, Iran Iranian emigrants to the United States British people of Azerbaijani descent Iranian emigrants to the United Kingdom Sportspeople of Iranian descent Iranian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu English practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters