Sasha Palatnikov (born March 15, 1989) is an American

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

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division of 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 ( ...

. He currently competes in

Karate Combat Karate Combat (KC) is a brand which promotes the first professional full-contact karate league, hosting worldwide events since April 2018. The private company is headquartered in Dubai and was founded by Robert Bryan. Karate Combat is owned by t ...

Background

Palatnikov, the son of a Russian father, who was a professional high diver, and a Scottish mother, was born and raised in Hong Kong but spent many summers in Brooklyn as a kid, specifically

Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a List of Brooklyn neighborhoods, neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach ...

. Due to this, he has a conversational level of knowledge in

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

. His parents put him in

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

at the age of five. He started playing

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

at the age of six and would train

Muay Thai 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 clinch fighting, cl ...

and

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

in the off seasons. He played rugby professionally, but due to an injury, decided to retire and go pursue an education. Sasha was the Hong Kong Heavyweight Amateur Boxing Association Champion in 2012, wanting to represent Hong Kong at Olympic qualifiers , he was prohibited from doing so. Sasha also spent time in the United States and Canada throughout his college career, studying and playing

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

and rugby at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

Hudson Valley Community College Hudson Valley Community College is a public community college in Troy, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY). Although about eighty percent of the students are from the Capital District, the remainder are from other par ...

, and the

University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

, graduating with a communications degree and minored in computer science. During this time he also obtained a US citizenship from his time studying. In 2014, Palatnikov was sentenced to a 2-year prison sentence by the Hong Kong District Court for a robbery in 2013. The incident occurred when Sasha was helping a South African citizen recover a HK$10,000 debt from an Australian man. HK$70,000 in cash was stolen after the pair forced their way into his flat. At the time, Sasha was a computer programmer who was described as "a straight-A student" and excellent rugby player, claimed he had agreed to help his friend in what he thought would be a purely verbal confrontation with the Australian. Dawson, the Australian, was kicked and punched by the South African while being held by Palatnikov, the court heard. After serving 16 months, Palatnikov was released in 2015. Within a month of his release, Palatnikov went to the Philippines to compete in a jiu-jitsu competition, then moved to Florida to train at the

Blackzilians The Blackzilians was a professional team of fighters in mixed martial arts, boxing, kickboxing, amateur wrestling and catch wrestling located in South Florida. The team had included former UFC champions Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Eddie Alvarez ...

team gym in Boca Raton.

Martial arts career

Early career

After making his debut in 2017, losing to Emmanuel Verdier via TKO in the second round at Fight Time 36, in 2018, he returned to Hong Kong with his girlfriend, initially just for two weeks on holiday to get his permanent ID renewed. A friend put him in touch with local promotion Just MMA, who asked if he wanted to fight on their upcoming card. He won the bout via knockout in the second round and his opponents manager became his manager as well. After a one off unanimous decision win against Jeremy Bastian at Combat FC 1 in China, Sasha joined the Angel Fight Championship, where he won his first bout against Jae Young Ahn at AFC 10 on January 28, 2019, via unanimous decision. He then moved up to Middleweight for his next bout in the promotion, winning the AFC Middleweight Championship against Sun Won Son at AFC 12. In the process, Palatnikov became the first Hong Kong-born MMA champion. Sasha then fought for the UAE Warriors promotion, where he faced fellow future UFC fighter,

Mounir Lazzez Mounir Lazzez (born November 16, 1987) is a Tunisian mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. A professional fighter since 2012, he is the first fighter who was born and raised in an Arab country to be signed to the UFC. ...

at UAE Warriors 8. He lost the bout via TKO at the end of the first round. Palatnikov faced late replacement Paulo Henrique at UAE Warriors 13 in a catchweight bout, winning the bout in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Palatnikov made his promotion debut against Louis Cosce on November 21, 2020, at UFC 255. He won the bout via TKO in the third round. This fight earned him the'' Fight of the Night'' award. In his sophomore appearance in the organization, Palatnikov faced

Impa Kasanganay Impa Armand Kasanganay (born January 17, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). He formerly competed in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions ...

on April 10, 2021, at UFC on ABC: Vettori vs. Holland. He lost the fight via second-round submission. Palatnikov faced

Ramiz Brahimaj Ramiz Brahimaj (born November 17, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Brahimaj started training seriously for MMA when he was 17 while he was a ju ...

on August 21, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum. He lost the fight via technical submission due to a

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 round one. On February 10, 2022, it was announced that Palatnikov was released by the UFC.

Post UFC

Palatnikov faced Kyron Bowen on April 2, 2022 at XMMA 4. He won the bout via TKO stoppage due to punches and elbows. Palatnikov faced Joshua Jones on May 20, 2022 at Tuff-N-Uff 128. He won the bout via split decision. Palatnikov faced Tanner Saraceno at XMMA 5 on July 23, 2022. He lost the bout via rear-naked choke in the third round. Palatnikov is scheduled to face

Francisco Trinaldo Francisco Trinaldo (born August 24, 1978) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2006, he has also competed for Jungle Fight in his native Brazil, ...

at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 6 on October 28, 2023.

Karate Combat

Palatnikov signed with Karate Combat on December 17, 2022, winning his debut against Canadian Rob Buxton by knockout in the first round at ''Karate Combat 37''. Palatnikov next faced Adrian Hadribeaj of Albania at ''Karate Combat 38'' on April 1, 2023, losing by split decision. Palatnikov faced former karate and kickboxing champion Raymond Daniels at ''Karate Combat 39'' on May 20, 2023, where he lost by unanimous decision.

Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA

Palatanikov faced

at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 6 on November 10, 2023. He lost the fight via TKO due to injury in the first round.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Fight of the Night (One Time) * Angel's Fighting Championship ** AFC Middleweight Championship (One time)

Karate Combat record

, - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 , Raymond Daniels , Decision (unanimous) , Karate Combat 39 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

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Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

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Mixed martial arts record

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Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

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Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–4 , Joshua Jones , Decision (split) , Tuff-N-Uff 128 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–4 , Kyron Bowen , TKO (punches and elbows) , XMMA 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:03 ,

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

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Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

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Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

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Wan Chai Wan Chai (Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: 灣仔) is located in the western part of Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is bounded by Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal St ...

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Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...