Timur Arsenovich Valiev (born January 19, 1990) 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

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

division. Valiev previously fought in 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 ...

(UFC) and

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) promo ...

(PFL).

Background

Timur Valiev was born on January 19, 1990, in Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia. In the high school he competed in soccer, then at the age of sixteen on the advice of a friend he joined to Wushu Sanda. Also he trained

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, gen ...

and

thai boxing Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

. He won a gold medal in European Pankration Championship and 3rd in World Cup.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Valiev made his professional MMA debut on September 4, 2010, in Portugal at the World Ultimate Full Contact 16 against Olle Raberg of Sweden. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Eurasia Fight Nights Global

Valiev faced UFC hopeful Oleg Borisov on November 3, 2012, at the EFN - Battle of Moscow 8. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

World Series of Fighting

His WSOF debut was at the WSOF 10 on June 14, 2014, against Adam Acquaviva. He won the fight via technical knockout in the third round. Valiev faced Isaiah Chapman at the WSOF 13 on September 13, 2014. He won thefight via unanimous decision. Valiev faced Ed West at the WSOF 19 on March 28, 2015. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round. Valiev faced Tito Jones at the

WSOF 23 World Series of Fighting 23: Gaethje vs. Palomino II was a mixed martial arts event to be held in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. This event aired on NBCSN in the U.S and on Fight Network in Canada. Background The main event was a rematch for ...

on September 28, 2015. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Valiev faced

Chris Gutiérrez Christopher Gutiérrez (born April 22, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist and currently competing in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of December 6, 2022, he is #12 in the UFC bantamweight rankings. ...

at the WSOF 28 on February 20, 2016. He lost the back-and-forth fight by split decision. After the fight WSOF president

Ray Sefo Ray Sefo (born 15 February 1971) is a New Zealand fight promoter and retired kickboxer, boxer, and mixed martial artist of Samoan descent. He was the K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 Runner Up, is a six-time Muay Thai World Champion, and was an eig ...

did not agree with the result fight and gave a rematch for Valiev. In their second fight, Valiev defeated

at WSOF 33 on October 7, 2016, via unanimous decision. Valiev was expected to face Bekbulat Magomedov on March 18, 2017, at WSOF 35 for vacant Bantamweight title. However, Valiev pulled out of the fight in the beginning of March citing an elbow injury and was replaced by Donavon Frelow.

Professional Fighters League

Valiev faced Josenaldo Silva on November 2, 2017, at PFL: Fight Night. He won the fight via submission in the third round. Valiev faced Max Coga on June 7, 2018, at PFL 1. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Originally a fight between Timur Valiev vs. Lee Coville was set, however due to undisclosed reasons Coville was forced to pull out, and was replaced by countrymen Bekbulat Magomedov on July 19, 2018, at PFL 4. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Valiev was scheduled to make his promotional debut against

Jamall Emmers Jamall Leantwean Emmers (born July 24, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Emmers transitioned to MMA from a high school and college ...

in a featherweight bout on August 1, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan. However, Valiev was removed from the card two days before the event for undisclosed reasons and replaced by Vincent Cachero. Valiev was quickly rescheduled and expected to face fellow newcomer Mark Striegl on August 22, 2020, at UFC on ESPN 15. In turn, Striegl was removed from the fight on August 20 after testing positive for COVID-19 and replaced by

Trevin Jones Trevin Anthony Jones (born August 4, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist living on the US Territory of Guam, who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Jones started his MMA career when he ...

. Valiev lost the fight via TKO in the second round. On October 7, it was announced that the

Nevada State Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, ...

(NSAC) issued a four and a half month suspension for Trevin Jones, after he tested positive for marijuana in a drug test related to his fight. They also announced that Jones' victory was overturned to a no contest due to the violation. He was fined $1,800 and before he is relicensed in Las Vegas, Jones will also have to pay a prosecution fee of $145.36. Valiev was expected to face

Julio Arce Julio Andres Arce (born October 27, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA). He was the former Ring of Combat bantamweight and featherweight champion. He also won the Golden Gloves 2011 Championship. Arce currently competes in the Banta ...

on February 6, 2021, at

UFC Fight Night 184 ''UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 184'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 42'' and ''UFC Vegas 18'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 6, 2021 at the ...

. However, Arce was removed from the event in late January due to undisclosed reasons and replaced by

Martin Day Martin Day may refer to: * Martin Day (writer), British screenwriter and novelist * Martin Day (fighter), Japanese-born American mixed martial artist * Martin Day (architect), Irish architect and builder See also * ''Martin's Day ''Martin's Day' ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Valiev faced

Raoni Barcelos Raoni Mendonça Barcelos (born May 1, 1987) is a Brazilian former amateur wrestler and grappler, and current professional mixed martial artist. He was five-times Brazilian national wrestling champion, and three-time Resurrection Fighting Alli ...

on June 26, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Volkov. Despite being knocked down twice in the second round, Valiev won the fight via majority decision. This fight earned him the '' Fight of the Night'' award. Valiev faced

Jack Shore Jack Shore (born 6 February 1995) is a Welsh professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2016, he is the former Bantamweight c ...

, replacing

Umar Nurmagomedov Umar Nurmagomedov (born March 1, 1996), is a Russian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has previously competed in the Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC) and P ...

, on March 19, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 204. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. On June 23, 2022, it was announced that Valiev was no longer on the UFC roster.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Fight of the Night (One time)

Pankration

*International Pankration federation **World Champion. **European Champion. **World Cup - 3rd.

Grappling

*Russian Grappling Federation **Russian Open winner.

Kudo

*Russian Kudo Federation **Dagestan Championship - winner.

Hand-to-hand combat

*Russian HTH Federation **Dagestan Open - winner.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 18–3 (1) ,

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References

External links

Official WSOF Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valiev, Timur 1990 births Living people Dagestani mixed martial artists Sportspeople from Makhachkala Russian expatriates in the United States Russian male mixed martial artists Russian sambo practitioners Russian sanshou practitioners Russian Muay Thai practitioners Russian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Bantamweight mixed martial artists Laks (Caucasus) Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing sambo Mixed martial artists utilizing pankration Mixed martial artists utilizing sanshou Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing kūdō Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu