Shamil Gamzatov (; born August 9, 1990) is a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

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 ...

competing 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. A professional since 2012, he has competed in 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 ( ...

(UFC),

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

Absolute Championship Berkut 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 ...

and competed in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

division of the

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

Background

He was born in Kizlyar city, Dagestan,

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into a devout

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family of Avar origin from Tsurib village, Charodinsky District. He started training in freestyle wrestling at 8 years of age, after an injured knee he retired. At 15 years of age he joined Amateur MMA under Zalimkhan Tatev. He won European and World MMA titles in amateur level. Also he is a Dagestan national kickboxing champion, 3x grappling Abdu-Dabi tournament winner. Combat Sambo North Caucasian championships 3rd 2015 at 100 kg. At the World Grappling Championships (World Grappling Association) he won the gold medal at 92 kilos. Gamzatov said of his changing of sports as a kid, “ changed various sports and performed in them: combat sambo, grappling, amateur MMA. Then there was a transition to MMA and there was a debut and so began my career as a professional!”

Mixed martial arts career

World Series of Fighting

Gamzatov made his debut in the US on January 23, 2016, at WSOF 27, his opponent was Teddy Holder of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. He won the fight by TKO (punches) in the first round.

Absolute Championship Berkut

Gamzatov faced Rodney Wallace on January 13, 2017, at ACB 51. He won the back-and-forth fight by split decision.

Professional Fighters League

Gamzatov faced Eddie Gordon on July 5, 2018, at PFL 3. He won the fight by unanimous decision. In his next bout, Gamzatov faced Rex Harris on 16 August 2018 at PFL 6. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Gamzatov signed a four-fight deal with the

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 ...

in July. Gamzatov made his promotional debut against Klidson Abreu on November 9, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 163. He won the fight via split decision. Gamzatov was scheduled to face Ovince Saint Preux on April 25, 2020. However, Gamzatov was forced to pull from the event due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

travel restriction The match was rescheduled on August 22, 2020, at UFC on ESPN 15. However, for unknown reasons, Gamzatov was pulled from the bout and was replaced by

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 ...

. Gamzatov was briefly linked to a bout against Devin Clark on November 28, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Lewis. However, Gamzatov was removed from the bout in mid-October due to alleged visa issues and was replaced by Anthony Smith on the card. Gamzatov was scheduled to face Da Woon Jung on April 10, 2021, at UFC on ABC 2. However, Gamzatov was removed from the bout on March 24 due to alleged visa issues and was replaced by William Knight. Gamzatov faced

Michał Oleksiejczuk Michał Oleksiejczuk (born February 22, 1995) is a Polish mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. A professional since 2014, he was the former Thunderstrike Fight League Light heavyweight champion in Poland. He currently competes in the middle ...

on October 30, 2021, at UFC 267. He lost the bout via TKO in the first round, losing for the first time in his professional career. Gamzatov was scheduled to face Misha Cirkunov on August 6, 2022, at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill. However, Gamzatov was unable to obtain a US visa and the bout was scrapped, after which he and the UFC parted ways.

Championships and accomplishments

Grappling Grappling is a fighting technique based on throws, trips, sweeps, clinch fighting, ground fighting and submission holds. Grappling contests often involve takedowns and ground control, and may end when a contestant concedes defeat. Shou ...

*Abu Dhabi grappling tournament **3x tournament winner. *World Grappling Association **World champion (92 kg).

MMA

*World Mixed Martial Arts Amateur Union **European champion 2013 (93 kg). **World champion 2013 (93 kg).

Mixed martial arts record

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Pyatigorsk Pyatigorsk (; Circassian languages, Circassian: Псыхуабэ, ''Psıxwabæ'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located on the Podkumok River, about from the town of Mineralnye Vody, which has an i ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gamzatov, Shamil 1990 births Living people Russian male mixed martial artists Avar people Martial artists from Makhachkala People from Kizlyar Russian Muslims Russian expatriates in the United States Russian sambo practitioners Russian male kickboxers Russian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing sambo Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu 21st-century Russian sportsmen