Saparbek Dibirovich Safarov (; born 14 October 1986) 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

light heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

division. He competed for 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 ( ...

Mixed martial arts career

Safarov started his career with 8 straight victories that included 6 knockouts and 2 submissions. He was then called in for a short replacement fight against Gian Villante. Gian's original opponent, Patrick Cummins, pulled out of the fight with a staph infection. Safarov suffered the first loss of his career by knockout in a back and forth fight. Both participants were awarded ''Fight of the Night'' for their performance. Safarov was next expected to fight Marcos Rogério de Lima at UFC Fight Night 115. However, Lima tested positive for banned anabolic steroids and the bout was cancelled. Safarov faced

Tyson Pedro Tyson Pedro (born 17 September 1991) is an Australian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Pedro is an Australian of American Samoan h ...

on February 11, 2018 at

UFC 221 ''UFC 221: Romero vs. Rockhold'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 11, 2018, at Perth Arena in Perth, Australia. Background While the UFC has hosted 11 previous events across t ...

. He lost the fight via kimura submission in the first round. Safarov was expected to face

Alonzo Menifield Alonzo Theodoro 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 Bellato ...

on November 10, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 139. However, it was reported on October 21, 2018 that Safarov pulled out from the event due to undisclosed reasons and the bout was scrapped. Safarov was scheduled to face Gökhan Saki on March 16, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 147. However, Saki pulled out of the fight in late February due to an undisclosed injury. Saki was replaced by Nicolae Negumereanu. Safarov won the fight via unanimous decision. Safarov was expected to face promotional newcomer Da Un Jung on August 31, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 157. However, on August 5, 2019, Safarov was pulled from the bout for undisclosed reasons. Safarov faced Rodolfo Vieira in a middleweight bout on March 7, 2020 at UFC 248. He lost the fight via an arm-triangle submission in the first round. Safarov was scheduled to face Julian Marquez on August 29, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 175. However, the bout was moved to UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos on November 14 after Safarov faced

travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and territories imposed quarantines, entry bans, or other travel restrictions for citizens of or recent travelers to the most affected areas. Some countries and territories imposed global restric ...

. In turn, Safarov pulled out due to weight cut issues a day before the event and the pairing was canceled once again. On December 8, 2020, it was announced that the UFC had released him.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

** Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Gian Villante

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Ramdan Mohhamed , TKO (punches) , MFP 240 - Modern Fighting Pankration 240 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:16 ,

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 , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 , Rodolfo Vieira , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , UFC 248 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 ,

, Submission (kimura) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:54 ,

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–1 , Gian Villante , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:54 ,

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Rodney Wallace , TKO (corner stoppage) , WFCA 17 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Giga Kukhalashvili , Submission (triangle choke) , ProFC 54 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:13 ,

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, 6–0 , Valdas Pocevicius , KO (punches) , Battle of Stars 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:00 ,

Makhachkala Makhachkala, previously known as Petrovskoye (1844–1857) and Port-Petrovsk (1857–1921), or by the local Kumyk language, Kumyk name of Anji, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Dagestan, Russia. ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Igor Sliusarchuk , TKO (punches) , World Ultimate Full Contact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:54 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Igor Litoshik , TKO (punches) , M-1 Global , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, Ukraine , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Adrian Mallebranche , TKO (punches) , M-1 Selection 2011 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:04 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Vasily Klepikov , Submission (rear-naked choke) , M-1 Selection 2010 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:18 ,

, Ukraine , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Visampasha Mirzakhanov , TKO (punches) , Legion Fight 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:49 ,

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 ,

References

External links