Shamil Radzhabovich Gamzatov (russian: Шамиль Раджабович Гамзатов; born August 9, 1990, in Dagestan) is a Russian

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 ...

competing in the

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

division. A professional since 2012, he has competed in 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),

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 ...

Absolute Championship Berkut Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA), formerly known as Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB), is a Russian mixed martial arts, kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu organization and one of the leading promotions in Europe. To date, most events have been ...

and competed in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

division of the

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

Background

He was born in Kizlyar city, Dagestan,

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

into a devout

Sunni muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

family of Avar origin from Tsurib village,

Charodinsky District Charodinsky District (russian: Чародинский райо́н; Avar: ) is an administrativeLaw #16 and municipalLaw #6 district (raion), one of the forty-one in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. It is located in the south of the republic. ...

. He started training in freestyle wrestling at 8 years of age, after an injured knee he retired. At 15 years of age he joined Amateur MMA under Zalimkhan Tatev. He won European and World MMA titles in amateur level. Also he is a Dagestan national kickboxing champion, 3x grappling Abdu-Dabi tournament winner. Combat Sambo North Caucasian championships 3rd 2015 at 100 kg. At the World Grappling Championships (World Grappling Association) he won the gold medal at 92 kilos. Gamzatov said of his changing of sports as a kid, “ changed various sports and performed in them: combat sambo, grappling, amateur MMA. Then there was a transition to MMA and there was a debut and so began my career as a professional!”

Mixed martial arts career

World Series of Fighting

He made his debut in the US on January 23, 2016, at WSOF 27, his opponent was Teddy Holder of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. He won the fight by TKO (punches) in the first round.

Absolute Championship Berkut

He faced Rodney Wallace on January 13, 2017, at ACB 51. He won the back-and-forth fight by split decision.

Professional Fighters League

Gamzatov faced

Eddie Gordon Eddie Gordon (born Edmund Richard Gordon; 9 February 1959 in Biggin Hill, Farnborough, Kent) is an English music journalist, producer, DJ and music business personality. Early and personal life Born in Biggin Hill, Gordon was raised in Gravesen ...

on July 5, 2018, at PFL 3. He won the fight by unanimous decision. In his next bout, Gamzatov faced Rex Harris on 16 August 2018 at PFL 6. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Gamzatov signed a four-fight deal 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 ...

in July. Gamzatov made his promotional debut against

Klidson Abreu Klidson Abreu (born 24 December 1992) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist competing in the Heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League. He formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts career Early ...

on November 9, 2019, at

UFC Fight Night 163 UFC Fight Night: Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar (also known as UFC Fight Night: Zabit vs. Kattar, UFC Fight Night 163 and UFC on ESPN+ 21) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 9, 201 ...

. He won the fight via split decision. Gamzatov was scheduled to face

Ovince Saint Preux Ovince Saint Preux (born April 8, 1983) is a Haitian-American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor since 2008, Saint Preux has also formerly competed for Strikef ...

on April 25, 2020. However, Gamzatov was forced to pull from the event due to

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 ...

travel restriction The match was rescheduled on August 22, 2020, at

UFC on ESPN 15 ''UFC on ESPN: Munhoz vs. Edgar'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 15'' and ''UFC Vegas 7'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 22, 2020, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, ...

. However, for unknown reason, Gamzatov was pulled from the bout and he was replaced by

Alonzo Menifield Alonzo Menifield (born October 18, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2015, he has formerly fought in Bellator and the ...

. Gamzatov was briefly linked to a bout against Devin Clark on November 28, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Lewis. However, Gamzatov was removed from the bout in mid-October due to alleged

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

issues and was replaced by Anthony Smith on the card. Gamzatov was scheduled to face

Da Un Jung Jung Da-un (born 7 December 1993), anglicized as Da Un Jung, is a South Korean mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2015, he has also formerly ...

on April 10, 2021, at

UFC on ABC 2 ''UFC on ABC: Vettori vs. Holland'' (also known as ''UFC on ABC 2'' and ''UFC Vegas 23'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 10, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, N ...

. However, Gamzatov was removed from the bout on March 24 due to alleged

issues and replaced by William Knight. Gamzatov faced

Michał Oleksiejczuk Michał Oleksiejczuk (born February 22, 1995) is a Polish mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2014, he was the former Thunderstrike Fight League Light heavyweight champion in Poland. He currently competes in the middleweight di ...

on October 30, 2021, at

UFC 267 ''UFC 267: Błachowicz vs. Teixeira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 30, 2021, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background This event took plac ...

. He lost the bout via TKO in the first round, losing for the first time in his professional career. Gamzatov was scheduled to face

Misha Cirkunov Mikhail Cirkunovs (born February 27, 1987), better known as Misha Cirkunov is a Latvian-Canadian, Latvian-born Canadian professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, who competed in the Light heavyweight (MMA), Light heavyweight division ...

on August 6, 2022, at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill. However, Gamzatov was unable to obtain a US visa and the bout was scrapped, after which he and the UFC parted ways.

Championships and accomplishments

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 ...

*Abu Dhabi grappling tournament **3x tournament winner. *World Grappling Association **World champion (92 kg).

MMA

*World Mixed Martial Arts Amateur Union **European champion 2013 (93 kg). **World champion 2013 (93 kg).

Mixed martial arts record

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Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...

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, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Sukhrob Muradov , TKO (punches) , Fight Star: Saransk vs. Penza , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:16 ,

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, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Vladimir Mishchenko , Submission (guillotine choke) , Warriors Honor: Mayor's Cup , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:07 ,

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Derbent Derbent (russian: Дербе́нт; lez, Кьвевар, Цал; az, Дәрбәнд, italic=no, Dərbənd; av, Дербенд; fa, دربند), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It is ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Assaad Raad , TKO (punches) , Top Fight: Battle of the Gyms , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:35 ,

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Murat Aibazov , TKO (punches) , FoPoKC: Cup of Friendship , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:35 ,

Teberda Teberda (russian: Теберда́, krc, Теберди, ''Teberdi'') is a town under the administrative jurisdiction of the town of republic significance of Karachayevsk in the Karachay–Cherkess Republic, Russia, located in the Caucasus Mou ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gamzatov, Shamil 1990 births Living people Russian male mixed martial artists Dagestani mixed martial artists Avar people Sportspeople from Makhachkala Russian Muslims Russian expatriates in the United States Russian sambo practitioners Russian male kickboxers Russian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing sambo Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu