Alexandr Shabliy (born April 18, 1993) is a Russian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competes in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

division of

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

Background

Alexander was born in the city of

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

to a Russian father and Dargin mother, Shabliy practices

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

. With his grandfather being a

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

, he incorporates into his post-fight speeches by the way of his headgear. In parallel with going to first grade, his parents enrolled him in the

Shotokan karate is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" thr ...

section, where the guy went three times a week. He achieved good results in sports, and graduated from school with good marks. A key role in the development of Sasha as a fighter was played by his coach, Belousov Nikolai Pavlovich, who directed his student in the right direction and introduced him to mixed martial arts, which was encouraged by his father. Despite the fact that the house of the Shabliyev family burned down and they were forced to move to a hostel, Vasily found an opportunity to reward his son for the victory with a small amount of money. Over time, along with his friend, Alexander switched to boxing, then to Thai boxing, and after that - combat sambo and hand-to-hand combat.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

But, by the time he came of age, he was first invited to the ProFC event, where he made his lightweight debut as a professional MMA fighter. But, in parallel with this career, he managed to take care of his personal life, education and a good position. The first 4 fights under the auspices of the domestic promotion, which Shabliy completed quite quickly, finishing his opponents with three submissions and one technical knockout. But in October 2011, he suffered his first loss to Mamour Fall, although the fight was very close and he lost by split decision. After, the athlete tried himself in the Oplot Challenge, but eventually returned to ProFC, starting to smash both foreign and Russian fighters there. Arsen Ubaidulaev became the second opponent to defeat him, submitting Shabliy with a rear-naked choke. However, Alexander rematched Arsen and knocked him out with a flying knee in the first round. Then, the prospect racked up victories after victories, and entered such leagues as ACB and Fight Nights Global. There he had a chance to meet with more serious opposition, but only Eduard Vartanyan managed to stop the representative of the Peresvet team, beating him by the way of split decision. Having scored a solid record in Russia, Shabliy decided to temporarily move to the United States in order to gain experience from Western colleagues, and to try to sign with a Western promotion. When the arrival to the States took place, the athlete was accepted into the American Top Team, where he trained for 4 months, but he did not succeed in becoming part of a major promotion. As the pandemic hit, Alexander had to return to his homeland. However, after a short period of time, his manager went to Bellator, and after fruitful negotiations, the parties managed to come to a common denominator.

Bellator MMA

In February 2021, it was announced that Shabliy had signed a multi-fight deal with

. He made his promotional debut on May 21, 2021, at

Bellator 259 Bellator 259: Cyborg vs. Smith 2 was a mixed martial arts event that was produced by Bellator MMA at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Background The event featured a Bellator Women's Featherweight Championship bout between the ch ...

, defeating Alfie Davis, a Briton with 4 win streak, via unanimous decision. In his sophomore performance, Shabliy faced Bobby King on December 3, 2021, at Bellator 279, defeating his opponent via unanimous decision. Shabliy faced former Lightweight champion Brent Primus at

Bellator 282 ''Bellator 282: Mousasi vs. Eblen'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on June 24, 2022, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, United States. Background Gegard Mousasi defended his Middleweight ...

on June 24, 2022. He picked up his first stoppage in the promotion, winning the bout via TKO in the second round.

Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix

On January 11, 2023, Shabliy was announced as one of the 8 participants in the $1 million Lightweight Grand Prix, with his quarterfinal bout against Tofiq Musayev taking place on March 10, 2023, at Bellator 292. Shabliy won the bout in the third round, finishing Musayev with a body kick that rendered him unable to continue. In the semifinals, Shabliy faced former Lightweight champion Patricky Pitbull on November 17, 2023, at

Bellator 301 ''Bellator 301: Amosov vs. Jackson'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on November 17, 2023, at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The event marked the final event to air on Showtime, an ...

. In dominant fashion, Shabliy beat Patricky via unanimous decision, gathering all 50-45 scorecards from the judges. Shabliy was scheduled to face Usman Nurmagomedov for the Bellator Lightweight Championship on May 17, 2024, at Bellator Champions Series 2. However, Nurmagomedov withdrew due to injury and the bout was scrapped. The bout was rescheduled and eventually took place on September 7, 2024 at Bellator Champions Series 4. Shabliy lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Professional Fighters League

On February 26, 2025, the promotion officially revealed that Shabliy was joins the 2025 PFL Lightweight Tournament. In the quarterfinal, Shabliy was scheduled to face Brent Primus on April 18, 2025, at PFL 3. However, Shabliy withdrew from the tournament due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Vinicius Sacchelli Cenci. On June 4, it was announced that Shabliy had tested positive for

recombinant erythropoietin Erythropoietin (; EPO), also known as erythropoetin, haematopoietin, or haemopoietin, is a glycoprotein cytokine secreted mainly by the kidneys in response to cellular hypoxia; it stimulates red blood cell production (erythropoiesis) in the bon ...

(rEPO) as the result of an out-of-competition sample collected on March 19, 2025. USADA gave him a six month suspension that began on March 19 and will end on September 19, 2025.

Personal life

The athlete is married to a girl named Maria, whom they married when he was 20 years old, and the couple has two sons - Timur and Dima. In addition, along with the career of a deputy, Shabliy became the director of the very ProFC league in which he began his fighting path. Shabliy studied at the Russian State University of Justice, where he study a degree of law, which he uses as a deputy of the Rostov City

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

Mixed martial arts record

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San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

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Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 23–3 , Tofiq Musayev , TKO (body kick) , Bellator 292 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:29 ,

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

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Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is a village in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is located in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 21–3 , Bobby King , Decision (unanimous) ,

Bellator 272 Bellator 272: Pettis vs. Horiguchi was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on December 3, 2021 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Background Sergio Pettis made his first defence of the List of ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–3 , Alfie Davis , Decision (unanimous) ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–3 , Alexandre Cidade , Decision (unanimous) , ProFC 66 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 18–3 , Adriano Martins , Decision (unanimous) , Fight Nights Global 87 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 17–3 , Miroslav Štrbák , KO (punch) , Fight Nights Global 82 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:02 ,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 16–3 , Gleristone Santos , KO (knee and punches) , ACB 67 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:41 ,

Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–3 , Eduard Vartanyan , Decision (split) , ACB 49 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 15–2 , Michael Brightmon , TKO (punches) , ACB 41 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:07 ,

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 ,

Ryan Quinn Ryan Quinn (born January 22, 1987) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2008 until 2017, he competed for Bellator MMA, Titan FC, and CES MMA. Mixed martial arts career Early career Quinn began his MMA car ...

, KO (head kick) , WFCA 16 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:13 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Haotian Wu , TKO (punches) , Kunlun Fight 29 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:05 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Gusein Esenbaev , TKO (flying knee & punches) , ProFC 57 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:07 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Haitham ElSayed , Submission (heel hook) , ProFC 56 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:29 ,

Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Luca Puggioni , Submission (heel hook) , ProFC 55 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:09 ,

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Arsen Ubaidulaev , KO (flying knee) , ProFC 53 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:48 ,

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 , Arsen Ubaidulaev , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ProFC 49 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:18 ,

Khimki Khimki (, ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located approximately northwest from central Moscow, and is part of the Moscow metropolitan area. History Origins and formation Khimki was initially a railway station that had existed sin ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Michael Doyle , TKO (punches) , ProFC 47 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:34 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Tarkan Ali Erokcu , TKO (punches) , ProFC 45 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:17 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Arvydas Zilius , Submission (armbar) , ProFC 41 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:53 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Abudokar Dukarey , Submission (triangle choke) , Oplot Challenge 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:05 ,

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

, Ukraine , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Mamour Fall , Decision (split) , ProFC 36 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Khasavyurt Khasavyurt is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Dagestan, Russia. Population: History It was founded in 1846 and granted town status in 1931. During the Russian Empire, the settlement was the administrative capital of the Khas ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Łukasz Bugara , Submission (guillotine choke) , ProFC 30 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:49 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Denis Aleksandrov , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ProFC 29 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:57 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Semen Selyukov , TKO (punches) , ProFC 26 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:36 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Vahe Zakaryan , Submission (guillotine choke) , ProFC 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:23 ,

Nalchik Nalchik (, ; ; ) is the capital city of Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about northwest of Beslan (Beslan is in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania). It covers an area of ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shabliy, Alexander 1993 births Living people Lightweight mixed martial artists Russian male mixed martial artists Bellator male fighters Eastern Orthodox Christians from Russia Sportspeople from Rostov-on-Don Martial artists from Rostov Oblast 21st-century Russian sportsmen Doping cases in mixed martial arts