Stanislav Nedkov (, born December 9, 1981) is a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n 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 ...

, political scientist and philosopher. A professional since 2006, he has formerly competed for 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 ...

World Victory Road World Victory Road (WVR) was a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization which promoted the Sengoku Raiden Championship (SRC) in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of PRIDE FC by Zuffa. It operated in conjunct ...

, and

Pancrase is a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Tokyo. It was founded in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the An ...

Background

Nedkov was born in

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo (, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is the historical and spiritual capital of Bulgaria. Often referred to as the "''City of the Tsars''", Velik ...

and began

wrestling Wrestling is a 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 involves di ...

when he was 10 years old. A two-time national champion 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 ...

, he has had first-place finishes in international tournaments in Russia,

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, Turkey, and Bulgaria. Nedkov has also studied in

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

under Kotooshu Katsunori and won his first grappling championship a year after he began learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Nedkov made his professional mixed martial arts debut in relative obscurity in 2006 and amassed an undefeated record of 7–0 in his native Bulgaria. Following a year away from the sport, Nedkov signed a contract with the Japanese promotion

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In June 2010, it was announced that Nedkov had signed a contract with the UFC. Nedkov was expected to make his UFC debut against Rodney Wallace on August 7, 2010, at UFC 117, but Nedkov was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Phil Davis Nedkov was expected to face

Steve Cantwell Steven Francis Cantwell (born August 12, 1986) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2012, he competed for the UFC and for the UFC's sister organization, World Extreme Cagefighting. There, Cantwell ...

on October 16, 2010, at

UFC 120 ''UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 16, 2010, at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom. The card featured six televised MMA bouts, as well as four un-aired preli ...

. However, less than 48 hours before the event, Cantwell was forced off the card after suffering a knee injury during a pre-fight training session. The bout was cancelled with no time to find a suitable opponent for Nedkov. Nedkov eventually made his UFC debut against Luiz Cane at UFC 134. Nedkov won the fight via TKO (punches) in the first round. Nedkov was scheduled to return to the UFC at UFC 142. He was expected to take on

Fabio Maldonado Fabio is a given name descended from Latin ''Fabius'' and very popular in Italy and Latin America (due to Italian migration). The name is written without an accent in Italian and Spanish, but is usually accented in Portuguese as ''Fábio'' (with t ...

at this event, however alleged visa problems forced Nedkov to withdraw from the bout. Nedkov faced Thiago Silva on November 10, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV 6. He lost via arm-triangle choke in the third round. However, on November 21, 2012, it was revealed that Silva had failed his post-fight drug test, testing positive for marijuana metabolites and the result was overturned and changed to a No Contest. Nedkov made his

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 ...

debut against Tom Watson on February 16, 2013, at UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald. He lost the back-and-forth fight via TKO in the second round. Both participants earned ''Fight of the Night'' honors for their performance. Nedkov returned to the octagon against Nikita Krylov in a light heavyweight bout at UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson on January 24, 2015. He lost the fight via submission in the first round and was subsequently released from the promotion shortly after.

Personal life

Nedkov married Bulgarian politician Yuliana Doncheva in 2010.

Championships and accomplishments

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 ( ...

** Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Tom Watson **UFC.com Awards ***2011: Ranked #5 Upset of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, , Nikita Krylov , Submission (standing guillotine choke) , UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:24 ,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–1 (1) , Tom Watson , TKO (knees and punches) , UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:42 ,

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 , , - , NC , align=center, 12–0 (1) , Thiago Silva , NC (overturned) , UFC on Fuel TV: Franklin vs. Le , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:45 ,

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, SAR, China , , - , Win , align=center, 12–0 , Luiz Cane , TKO (punches) , UFC 134 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:13 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Augustin Helgiu , Submission (rear-naked choke) , BMMAF: Warriors 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:14 ,

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, Bulgaria , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 ,

Kevin Randleman Kevin Christopher Randleman (August 10, 1971 – February 11, 2016) was an American mixed martial artist, amateur and professional wrestler, and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. Randleman's background was in collegiate wrestling, in which he ...

, Decision (split) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 11 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Travis Wiuff , TKO (punches) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 8 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:42 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 ,

Masayuki Kono is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is working as a freelancer. He is best known for his time in Wrestle-1, where he is a former two-time Wrestle-1 Champion. Career All Japan Pro Wrestling (2003–2005) Kon ...

, TKO (punches) , Pancrase: Shining 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:35 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Adelin Lutckanov , Submission (rear-naked choke) , MMA Bulgaria , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Bulgaria , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Goce Candovski , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: Bulgaria , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Bulgaria , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Yanko Kolev , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Shooto: Bulgaria , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:38 ,

, Bulgaria , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Kamen Georgiev , TKO (punches) , Shooto: Bulgaria , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:11 ,

, Bulgaria , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Vladimir Shumanov , TKO (submission to punches) , Ichigeki: Bulgaria , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:16 ,

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

Bulgaria , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Krasimir Bonchev , TKO (punches) , The Day of the Champions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:33 ,

Haskovo Haskovo ( ) is a city in the region of Northern Thrace in southern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of the Haskovo Province, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. According to Operative Program Regional Development of Bulgaria ...

, Bulgaria , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Iliyan Mitev , TKO (punches) , MMA Bulgaria , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Bulgaria ,

References

External links

Official Stanislav Nedkov Website
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nedkov, Stanislav 1981 births Living people Bulgarian male mixed martial artists Bulgarian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Sumo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Veliko Tarnovo Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century Bulgarian sportsmen