Kamal Shalorus (; born 1972–1977) is an Iranian professional

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 WEC,

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 TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

, and

ONE Championship ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

Early life and background

Shalorus was born in an isolated rural community in northern Iran near Khalkhal. He has stated the men of his family were

shepherds A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

and

wrestlers Wrestling is a Martial arts, martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling ...

, and conditions were harsh, with very little

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

and no modern facilities such as electricity, a hospital, or school. Because of this, his birth was undocumented and he does not know his age. He was instead given the birth certificate of an older brother who had passed away. As such, several ages for Shalorus have been reported.

Wrestling

As a youth, Shalorus did well in wrestling and received the opportunity to train in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, and eventually

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, where he emigrated to in 1997. In 2001, Shalorus won the British Senior Championships in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

at 85 kg (187 lbs). It has been claimed by Shalorus and repeated by others that he was captain of the British wrestling team for the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

and

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, specifically the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. In reality, only one British wrestler qualified for the 2004 Olympics: Nate Ackerman, and

United World Wrestling United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of Wrestling; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the World Championships and Olympics. It presides over international competitions for various forms of wrest ...

has no record of Shalorus competing at the Olympics, world championships, or any other notable international competitions. Shalorus has also competed in grappling tournaments. He has a notable win over Joachim Hansen in the

Abu Dhabi Combat Club The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship is an international submission wrestling, submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). ADCC is considered one of the most prestigious No-Gi submission grappling tou ...

(ADCC) European Trials.

Mixed martial arts career

Shalorus became interested in MMA when he cross-trained with fighters in Britain, including Lee Murray and Alex Reid. Shalorus made his professional debut at the King of Kombat promotion in April 2008, winning by TKO. He compiled a 4-0-1 record before being signed by WEC. Shalorus has claimed to have trained with

Pat Miletich Patrick Jay Miletich (; born March 9, 1968) is a retired Americans, American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former sports commentator. He is known for his fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he became the first UFC W ...

Erik Paulson Erik Paulson (born June 28, 1966) is an American mixed martial artist. He is the first American to win the World Light Heavyweight Shooto Championship in Japan. Biography Erik started his career in martial arts starting with Judo at age of e ...

, Relson Gracie, Billy Wicks,

Neil Melanson Neil Melanson is an American submission grappling coach. Melanson specializes in catch wrestling, while drawing elements from judo, and focuses his coaching specifically, but not exclusively, on grappling in mixed martial arts. He is especially k ...

, Phil Cardella and

Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American mixed martial arts commentator, actor, former United States Army sergeant, former professional mixed martial artist, and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestlin ...

throughout his career.

World Extreme Cagefighting

He was scheduled to make his WEC debut against Alex Karalexis on 18 November 2009 at

WEC 44 WEC may stand for: Organizations * Westinghouse Electric Company, a multinational company supplying nuclear services, fuel, and power plants * Wisconsin Elections Commission, an agency that enforces election laws in Wisconsin * Wisconsin Energy ...

, but a broken hand forced Karalexis off the card. Karalexis was replaced by WEC newcomer Will Kerr. Shalorus defeated Kerr via TKO in the first round. Shalorus defeated previously unbeaten

Dave Jansen David Hendrik Jansen (born August 21, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in Bellator's Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, Jansen has also formerly competed for the WEC and M-1 Global. Bac ...

via unanimous decision on 10 January 2010 at

WEC 46 ''WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on January 10, 2010. It took place at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. Background Mark Hominick was scheduled to face Yves Jabouin on t ...

. Shalorus was expected to face former WEC Lightweight Champion

Jamie Varner James Varner (born October 12, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist who fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former WEC Lightweight Champion. Background Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Varner attended Deer ...

on 24 April 2010 at

WEC 48 ''UFC Presents: Aldo vs. Faber'', also referred to as ''WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on April 24, 2010 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. This was WEC's first an ...

, but Shalorus was forced off of the card with an injury. Varner/Shalorus took place on 20 June 2010 at

WEC 49 ''WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on June 20, 2010 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Background WEC 49 was the only event the organization had held outsi ...

. 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. 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 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion compa ...

on 11 November 2010 at

WEC 52 ''WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on November 11, 2010 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas. Background Urijah Faber made his bantamweight debut against Japanese striker Takeya ...

, but the bout was moved to

WEC 53 ''WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on December 16, 2010 at Jobing.com Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. The event was the first time that Zuffa has ...

after Shalorus re-injured 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 World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was mad ...

merged with the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

. 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 19 March 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 Dhab ...

. 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 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

Khabib Nurmagomedov Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov (born 20 September 1988) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight (MMA), Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He was the longest-rei ...

on 20 January 2012 at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller. He lost the fight via submission in the third round. Shalorus faced

Rafael dos Anjos Rafael Souza dos Anjos (; born 26 October 1984), also known by his initials RDA, is a Brazilian and American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Champion ...

on 15 May 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier. After being dropped with a head kick, Shalorus was submitted via

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC), also known as hadaka jime (裸絞) in Judo and "lion killer choke (Mata Leão)" in BJJ, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word ''naked'' in this context suggests that, unlike other stra ...

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 (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

promotion. He made his promotional debut against

Eduard Folayang Eduard Ayangwa Folayang (born November 22, 1983) is a Filipino professional mixed martial artist and wushu practitioner who competes in the Lightweight division of ONE Championship, where he is a two-time ONE Lightweight World Ch ...

at ONE Fighting Championship 9 on 31 May 2013 and won the fight via unanimous decision. Kamal faced Ariel Sexton on 14 March 2014 at ONE Fighting Championship 14. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Shalorus faced

Shinya Aoki is a Japanese mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and grappler competing in ONE Championship's Welterweight division. He also competes in DDT Pro-Wrestling where he is a former three-time DDT Extreme Champion. A professional competit ...

for the ONE Lightweight Championship on 29 August 2014 at ONE Fighting Championship 19. He lost the fight via submission in the first round. Shalorus fought Ev Ting at ONE: Throne of Tigers, losing by split decision. Shalorus has not fought since.

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 Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, Malaysia , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–4–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE FC: Reign of Champions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:15 ,

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, UAE , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3–2 , Ariel Sexton , Decision (unanimous) , ONE FC: War of Nations , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Malaysia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , ONE FC: Rise to Power , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

, Philippines , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–3–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on Fuel TV: The Korean Zombie vs. Poirier , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 ,

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:08 ,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

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, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:15 ,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

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, Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located about nine miles northwest of the state capital Phoenix, Glendale is known for State Farm Stadium, which is the home of the Arizona Cardinals football team. The city al ...

, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 6–0–2 ,

, Draw (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

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, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0–1 , Will Kerr , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:26 ,

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Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0–1 , Justin Miller , TKO (punches) , Supreme Warrior Championship 7: Discountenance , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:32 ,

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, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 3–0–1 , Mike Bronzoulis , Draw (majority) , King of Kombat 6: Fists of Fury , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, 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, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shalorus, Kamal Living people 1972 births 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 Iranian emigrants to the United States Iranian emigrants to the United Kingdom Sportspeople of Iranian descent Iranian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters ONE Championship mixed martial artists 1970s births Date of birth missing (living people)

Early life and background

Wrestling

Mixed martial arts career

World Extreme Cagefighting

Ultimate Fighting Championship

ONE Fighting Championship

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References