Karimula Magomedovich Barkalaev (born 23 January 1973) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist (MMA) and sanda practitioner. He is the first and only Russian national to have won the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship. According to '' Sport Express,'' on American forums, he was called the "most mysterious fighter in the history of MMA". On the

MMA 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 ...

ranking system portal

Fight Matrix Fight Matrix , MMA Rankings, Records, Statistics is an independent, comprehensive, mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter ranking system portal. It is one of the sport's most recognized ranking websites. According to FightMatrix: "The rankings on thi ...

, Barkalaev reached a peak ranking of No. 3 Light Heavyweight in 1999.

Background

Barkalaev was born on 23 January 1973, in the village of Tivi, Qvareli, Georgian SSR. He is of Avar descent. After sixth grade, he moved to Kaspiysk,

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...

where he attended a sports boarding school for Judo and graduated in 1990. He trained with his cousin, Dzhabrail Barkalaev who later became a silver medalist at the 1996 Russian Judo Championship. In 1993, Barkalaev started training in sanda. He was winner of the 1995 and 1996 Russian Wushu Championships. He was also a silver medalist in the 1996 European Wushu Championship in Rome. In 1997, Barkalaev met Volk Han and would train under him to participate in mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Barkalaev spent his early career fighting under the International Absolute Fighting Council (IAFC) promotion in Russia. On 23 May 1998, he fought against Gilbert Yvel. Yvel was disqualified after Barkalaev's coach Volk Han noted the referee Yvel had illegally bitten his fighter On 8 February 2001, Barkalaev competed in the Shidokan Jitsu – Warriors 1 Tournament in Kuwait. He faced Dave Menne in the finals and lost by unanimous decision after referee, John McCarthy deducted a point for grabbing the cage. After the fight, he complained how the event was unfair since the referee, as well as all three judges were from the U.S. Since that tournament, Barkalaev has not participated in any MMA bouts. He has stated there was a lack of financial incentive and interest in continuing.

Professional grappling career

In 1998, Barkalaev competed in the inaugural tournament of the

ADCC World Championship The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, is an international submission wrestling, submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). The inaugural tournament was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 1998. It has been ...

. He defeated Carlos Lopez, Toby Imada and Igor Yakimov to reach the finals of the −88 kg division. In the finals he lost to

Rodrigo Gracie Rodrigo Gracie (born March 11, 1974) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the famous Gracie family, Rodrigo is a 6th Degree Black Belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and a Gold Medalist in t ...

on points after a 30-minute bout. In 1999, Barkalaev returned to compete in the 1999 ADCC World Championship. He defeated Renato Verissimo, Amaury Bitetti and

Egan Inoue Egan Inoue ( ja, イーゲン井上, born June 4, 1965) is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, former mixed martial artist and racquetball competitor. A two-time International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion, Inoue is a two-time Br ...

all by points. In the finals he faced Belarusian wrestler, Aleksandr Savko where he won on points and became champion of the −88 kg division. In 2000, Barkalaev moved up in weight class to compete in the −99 kg division of the 2000 ADCC World Championship. He defeated

Nino Schembri Antônio "Nino" Schembri (; born June 1, 1974 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and former mixed martial artist. He is a former member of the Chute Boxe Academy and currently trains with Black House. ...

and faced Ricardo Arona in the semi-finals. The match between the two eventually became a brawl and Arona won due to points. At the time, Barkalaev was an instructor in Abu Dhabi and a representative of a local Sheikh. His action offended the Sheikh who asked for Barkalaev's arrest. After the match, Barkalaev was escorted off the mat and spent a week in prison. He was eventually released by the Sheikh and has stated he wanted to have a rematch with Arona under MMA rules. Barkalaev has not returned to the UAE since.

Personal life

As of 2023, Barkalaev works as a director for Dagpotrebsoyuz which is the Consumers' Union of

. He teaches his skills to young people and can be found at the

Ali Aliyev Sport Complex Ali Aliyev Sport Complex (Arena) (russian: Спорткомплекс имени Али Алиева) is an indoor sports arena situated in Kaspiysk, Russia. The arena usually hosts basketball, volleyball, judo, futsal. It also hosts other tourn ...

which he was previously in charge of for five years. Barkalaev graduated from business school in 2003. He was nominated by the

Russian All-People's Union The Russian All-People's Union (ROS; russian: Российский общенародный союз; РОС; ''Rossiyskiy obshchenarodnyy soyuz'', ''ROS'') is a Russian conservative political party formed in October 1991. In 2001, it merged into ...

to stand in for the

People's Assembly of the Republic of Dagestan The People's Assembly of the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Народное собрание Республики Дагестан, Narodnoye sobraniye Respubliki Dagestan) is the regional parliament of Dagestan, a federal subject of Russia. I ...

although he dropped out after registration.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 11–1 , Dave Menne , Decision (unanimous) , rowspan=3, Shidokan Jitsu: Warrior's War , rowspan=3, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 10:00 , rowspan=3,

Kuwait City Kuwait City ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...

, Kuwait , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Jose Landi-Jons , TKO (punches) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:59 , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Dersu Lerma , Decision (unanimous) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 10:00 , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Martin Malkhasyan , TKO (strikes) , rowspan=3, IAFC: Brilliant Cup 1999 , rowspan=3, , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , rowspan=3, Kyiv, Ukraine , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Roman Savochka , KO , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Oleg Chemodurov , TKO (strikes) , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Sergei Akinin , TKO (submission to Punches) , IAFC: Russian Championship 1999 (Day 2) , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 , Moscow, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Gilbert Yvel , DQ (biting) , IAFC: European Championship 1998 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:49 , Moscow, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Valery Pliev , N/A , rowspan=3, IAFC: Russian Championship 1997 , rowspan=3, , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , rowspan=3, Moscow, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Valery Nikulin , N/A , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Igor Gerus , N/A , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Joe Charles , Submission (forearm choke) , IAFC: Absolute Fighting Championship 2: Day 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 9:19 , Moscow, Russia ,

Submission grappling record

External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barkalaev, Karimula Living people 1973 births ADCC Submission Fighting World Champions (men) Avar people Dagestani mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing sanshou Russian male mixed martial artists Russian people of Dagestani descent Russian sanshou practitioners