Eduard Vartanyan (born June 11, 1991) 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 competed 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 the

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

(ACA). In July 2023, after he won the grand prix of Lightweight division of ACA, he reached #14 in World Lightweight rankings according to

Fight Matrix Fight Matrix is a mixed martial arts ranking system portal. It is one of the sport's most recognized ranking websites. Software According to website, "The rankings on this site are software generated, produced by a proprietary engine (CIRRS � ...

and #10 in pound-for-pound ranking of Russia.

Background

Eduard Vartanyan was born on June 11, 1991 in Yerevan to an Armenian father and a Russian mother. At an early age, Eduard moved to Moscow with his family. After graduating from college with honors, Eduard served in the Russian air defense forces. He holds a degree in information security engineering. Eduard is the host of the popular podcast about mixed martial arts called "Fight Show". He is cousin of

Aram Vardanyan Aram Vardanyan (born 11 November 1995) is an Uzbek sport wrestler of Armenian descent, who competes in the men's Greco Roman category. He won the gold medal at the 2025 Asian Wrestling Championships Career Aram Vardanyan claimed silver medal ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Eduard began playing the sport in his second year of college at age 17, enrolling in a combat sambo class. Soon, in 2008, he won the Moscow championship. Also, Eduard was engaged in

Thai boxing Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinching technique ...

, winning the Moscow and the Russian championships in 2009. Eduard had his first professional fight in mixed martial arts at the Vale Tudo 2 tournament, being submitted by Alim Kokov in the first round. He would take a year break, before returning at the VMAU - Headhunting tournament defeating Tarverdi Tarverdiev in the 1st round. In the second bout of the evening, he would face Alexander Mikhailov, defeating the opponent with an armbar. Eduard had his fourth fight with

Sergey Khandozhko Sergey Khandozhko (born May 19, 1992) is a retired Russian male mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background While in the first grade, his parents signed Sergey to the sambo/judo ...

at the Legend 1 fight show, defeating him by technical knockout. Then he wins by TKO of the Brazilian Andre de Jesus in Rio de Janeiro in the first round at IMMAF 2013. At the Legend 2 tournament, he defeated the Frenchman Florent Betorangal. Eduard entered the Coliseum FC Welterweight tournament, facing Benjamin Brinza in the Quarter-finals, defeating him via unanimous decision. After defeating Vikto Tchernetsky via armbar, he would return to Coliseum Welterweight tournament to defeat Sergey Faley by majority decision. In 2014, he won the World Cup in combat sambo in the category up to 74 kg, defeating Ali Bagov by technical knockout in the final, thereby becoming an international master of sports in combat sambo and the world champion. Eduard's next fight is with Artyom Spichak, winning him by knockout in the first round at the Sparta Legacy tournament, followed by a armbar submission in the first round of Anatoly Angelovsky.

Absolute Championship Akhmat

On March 21, 2015, he made his debut in ACB (now ACA) and instantly becomes a member of the lightweight Grand Prix, defeating Dzhamal Magomedov by unanimous decision at the ACB 15. In the summer of the same year, he meet with Amirkhan Adaev at ACB 20 and defeats him by technical knockout. On October 12, he meets

Ali Bagov Ali Bagov (; born February 12, 1990) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions of the Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA). Fight Matrix had him ranked a top 10 lightweight in the world in August 20 ...

again at ACB 22 and this time he suffers his second defeat in his professional career, getting submitted in the first round via rear-naked choke. Eduard fought his next fight on December 22, 2015 as part of ACB 27 against

Magomedrasul Khasbulaev Magomedrasul Magomedalievich Khasbulaev (; born October 23, 1986) is a Russian former mixed martial artist who fought in the Featherweight division. In a career spanning 12 years, Khasbulaev fought in Bellator MMA, where he won the Bell ...

, defeating him by unanimous decision. With the win, Vartanyan got a chance for the ACB Lightweight Championship, facing off against the champion

Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov (born January 16, 1989) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA), where he is the current ACA Lightweight Champion. Abdulvakhabov has reached #15 ...

at ACB 32 on March 26, 2016. He was finished via TKO stoppage in the first torund. Functionally, Vartanyan was not one hundred percent ready for the fight, therefore, as he himself admitted in an interview. Eduard quickly "played back" - in bouts against Brazilian Marcio Breno Rodriguez Braga at ACB 41 which he won via third round TKO and a close bout against Alexander Shabliy at ACB 49, which he managed to win via split decision. On April 15, 2017, at ACB 57, he defeated

Alexander Sarnavskiy Alexander Sarnavskiy (, born January 17, 1989) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Sarnavskiy has mostly competed in his native Russia, where he is an M-1 Global v ...

in the second round, choking him unconscious via rear-naked choke. In a duel with Andrey Koshkin, which took place on September 30, 2017 at the ACB 71 tournament in Moscow, he won by unanimous decision, becoming the first interim ACB Lightweight Championship in the history of the promotion and a contender for the championship belt. A second chance against

fell to Vartanyan at ACB 77. In a controversial decision, Abdulvakhabov won the rematch via split decision, retaining the title. Disputes about the final result continued for a long time. The next year was successful in Eduard's career - in November at the ACB 90 Moscow tournament he defeated Ustarmagomed Gajidaudov. On April 27, 2019 as part of ACA 95, defeated American Joshua Avelez by unanimous decision Eduard Vartanyan fought his last contractual fight in the ACA promotion on September 5, 2020, defeating Mukhamed Kokov by unanimous decision at the ACA 110 tournament in the co-main fight of the evening in Moscow. However, the result of the fight caused a scandal, and the founder of the ACA league , Mairbek Khasiev, announced his intention to declare the fight invalid, disagreeing with the decision of the judges. On September 8, a specially convened ACA Athletic Commission recognized the fight as valid and upheld the decision of the judges.

Open Fighting Championship

After his career with the ACA, Vartanyan planned to continue his career in Western promotions, but due to coronavirus restrictions and visa problems, he had to continue his career in Russia, in the young Open FC promotion. His debut fight took place on May 28, 2021 in Moscow in the main fight of the Open Fighting Championship 4 tournament against the Brazilian fighter Michel Silva. The fight lasted all 3 rounds, in each round Vartanyan methodically dominated his opponent and the unanimous victory was given to Vartanyan. He would then face Raimundo Batista on September 21, 2021 at Open Fighting Championship 10, dominating his opponent and winning after his opponent's corner stopped the fight after the first round.

2023 ACA Lightweight Grand Prix

Vartanyan returned to ACA, entering the 2022 ACA Lightweight Grand Prix with his first opponent supposed to be Luis Peña on May 21, 2022 at ACA 139. However, Peña could not make it into Russia and was replaced by Alain Ilunga. He submitted his opponent in the third round via guillotine choke, advancing to the next round. In the semi-finals on November 4, 2022 at ACA 147, Vartanyan faced Yusuf Raisov defeating him in dominant fashion, with the doctor stopping the bout after the second round due to the damage inflicted on Raisov. The Grand Prix concluded on June 16, 2023 at ACA 159 against Artem Reznikov. Vartanyan was able to nullify the wrestling of Reznikov, punishing him on the feet concluding in a TKO stoppage in the third round and winning the Grand Prix and the cash prize. In the fall of 2023, he turned down the biggest contract in the history of Russian mixed martial arts for the dream of fighting in the UFC. On August 23, 2024, after a year layoff trying to sign with the UFC, Vartanyan faced Aleksandr Grozin at Nashe Delo: Vartanyan vs. Grozin, winning the bout via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** 2022 ACA Lightweight Grand Prix ** Interim ACB Lightweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 26–4 , Aleksandr Grozin , Decision (unanimous) , Nashe Delo 85 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 25–4 , Artem Reznikov , TKO (punches) , ACA 159 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:32 ,

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, 24–4 , Yusuf Raisov , TKO (doctor stoppage) , ACA 147 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, 23–4 , Alain Ilunga , Submission (guillotine choke) , ACA 139 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:02 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 22–4 , Raimundo Batista , TKO (corner stoppage) , Open FC 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 21–4 , Michel Silva , Decision (unanimous) , Open FC 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 20–4 , Mukhamed Kokov , Decision (split) , ACA 110 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 19–4 , Joshua Aveles , Decision (unanimous) , ACA 95 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 18–4 , Ustarmagomed Gadzhidaudov , Decision (unanimous) , ACB 90 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–4 ,

, Decision (split) , ACB 77 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 17–3 , Andrey Koshkin , Decision (unanimous) , ACB 71 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 16–3 ,

, Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) , ACB 57 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:46 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 ,

Alexandr Shabliy Alexandr Shabliy (born April 18, 1993) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA. Background Alexander was born in the city of Rostov-on-Don to a Russian father and Dargin mother, Shabliy practi ...

, Decision (split) , ACB 49 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Márcio Breno , TKO (knee and punches) , ACB 41 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:22 ,

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , ACB 32 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:53 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , ACB 27 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Dushanbe Dushanbe is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 1,564,700, with this population being largely Tajiks, Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe, and from 1929 to 1961 as St ...

, Tajikistan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , ACB 22 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:16 ,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Amirkhan Adaev , TKO (punches) , ACB 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:47 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Dzhamal Magomedov , Decision (unanimous) , ACB 15 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Anatoly Angelovskiy , Submission (armbar) , Tech-KREP FC: Battle Of Heroes , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:59 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Artem Spichakov , TKO (punches) , Legacy Of Sparta 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:02 ,

Zelenograd Zelenograd (, , ) is a city and administrative okrug of Moscow, Russia. The city of Zelenograd and the territory under its jurisdiction form the Zelenogradsky Administrative Okrug (ZelAO), an exclave located within Moscow Oblast, north-west ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Sergey Faley , Decision (majority) , Coliseum FC: New History 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Viktor Tchernetsky , Submission (armbar) , Fight Alliance: Gladiator Fighting 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:50 ,

Troitsk Troitsk (, ''Tróick'') is the name of several types of inhabited localities in Russia, inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities ;Urban localities *Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast; *Troitsk, Moscow, a town in Tro ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Benjamin Brinsa , Decision (unanimous) , Coliseum FC: New History 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Florent Betorangal , Decision (unanimous) , Legend 2: Invasion , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , André de Jesus , TKO (punches) , Imbituba Fight 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:15 ,

Imbituba Imbituba is a port and coastal town in the southern Brazil state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina. As of 2020, it has an estimated population of 45,286. It is also home to a population of Portuguese, Italian, and German descent, and it ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , Legend: Emelianenko vs. Sapp , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Alexander Mikhailov , Submission (armbar) , rowspan=2, Vologda Martial Arts Festival 2012 , rowspan=2, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:56 , rowspan=2,

Vologda Vologda (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: The city serves as ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 , Tarverdi Tarverdiev , Submission (triangle choke) , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Alim Kokov , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Vale Tudo Russia 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 ,

, Russia , , -

Kickboxing record

, - bgcolor="#cfc" , 2024-03-06 , , Win , , align=left,

Damir Ismagulov Damir Amangeldyevich Ismagulov (; born February 3, 1991) is a Russian and Kazakh mixed martial artist, who competes in the Lightweight division. He has previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and was the former M-1 Global ligh ...

, , Nashe Delo 82 , ,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, , Decision (Unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vartanyan, Eduard 1991 births Living people Russian male mixed martial artists Armenian male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing sambo Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Russian sambo practitioners Armenian sambo practitioners Russian male Muay Thai practitioners Armenian male Muay Thai practitioners Sportspeople from Yerevan 21st-century Russian sportsmen