Saparbek Dibirovich Safarov (russian: Сапарбек Сафаров; born 14 October 1986) 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, incorpo ...

, who competes 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 cruis ...

division. He competed for 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 ...

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 Marcos Rogério de Lima (born May 25, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2009, he formerly competed for Strikeforce, Shooto, and was a ...

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 mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Pedro is an Australian of Spanish, American Samoa heritage. He ...

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, Western Australia. Background While the UFC has hosted 11 previous events ...

. He lost the fight via kimura submission in the first round. Safarov was expected to face Alonzo Menifield 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 ''UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 147'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 5'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 16, 2019 at The O2 Arena in London, Englan ...

. 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 Rodolfo Vieira Srour (born September 25, 1989 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he competes in the middleweight division. Vie ...

in a middleweight bout on March 7, 2020 at

UFC 248 ''UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 7, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. He lost the fight via an arm-triangle submission in the first round. Safarov was scheduled to face

Julian Marquez Julian Felipe Marquez (born May 8, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Marquez was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, ...

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 regions imposed quarantines, entry bans, or other travel restrictions for citizens of or recent travelers to the most affected areas. Some countries and regions imposed global restrictions th ...

. 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), 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 strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

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

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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, Submission (kimura) ,

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

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Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Ci ...

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

Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a po ...

, 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 ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) 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 ...

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

Makhachkala Makhachkala ( rus, Махачкала, , məxətɕkɐˈla, links=yes),; av, Махӏачхъала, Maħaçqala; ce, ХӀинжа-ГӀала, Hinƶa-Ġala; az, Маһачгала, Mahaçqala; nog, Махачкала; lbe, Махачкъала; ...

, 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 spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, 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 (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in south ...

, Russia ,

References

External links