Best Combat SAMBO Fighters in History

Combat SAMBO  is not as popular in MMA as wrestling or other martial arts. This is primarily due to the sport's lack of global popularity, as well as the lack of SAMBO athletes in MMA. But, make no mistake, SAMBO  works extremely well in MMA. And there have been many outstanding fighters with a firm foundation in this skill over the years.

SAMBO  , which was founded in Russia in the 1920s, has two primary forms and is similar to modern MMA combat in certain ways. It was one of the first arts to combine techniques from several arts into a single fighting style. This is the primary reason why MMA competitors with a strong SAMBO  foundation are such good and difficult opponents for anyone.

In this post, we will discuss the top sambo fighters in MMA / UFC history, as well as their tales.

11. Dennis Siver

While most people are familiar with Siver from his loss to Conor McGregor, he has a lengthy history with the UFC, having joined in 2007, fighting 21 times, and winning 12 of them. In his prime, Siver was a formidable opponent, having defeated notable fighters like Charles Rosa and B.J. Penn. Siver began his martial arts career at an early age, training in SAMBO and Judo before moving on to kickboxing, where he competed professionally, and Taekwondo.

10. Dvalishvili Merab

There is some merit to the notion that Dvalishvili is the Khabib of the 135-pound weight class. The guy is an incredible wrestler who can keep up a pace with Khabib for the duration of a match. Inside the cage, Dvalishvili mauls people despite not being a finisher. His Sambo and Judo abilities are what make him stand out from the other grapplers on the 135 lbs. roster.

He was raised in Georgia and began judo and sambo training at an early age. He initially trained to learn self-defense techniques, but when he was 21 years old, he moved to the United States and began competing.

He placed second at the World Sambo Championships in 2019. Remember that he accomplished this while competing in the UFC. In the same year he won the silver medal in sambo, he emerged victorious in two UFC bouts. Fantastic.

9. Ivanov Blagoy

Ivanov, a UFC fighter and former heavyweight champion in the WSOF and PFL, is most recognised for his distinctive iron chin. Please understand that he is a fantastic fighter and that his tale is incredibly motivating. On the other hand, you will be remembered for that when you survive more than 20 of Derrick Lewis's direct hits.

Ivanov trained in Judo as a child before switching to Combat Sambo. His victory over Fedor Emelianenko in the 2008 World Sambo Championships was the pinnacle of his career. That year, Ivanov went on to win the world championship and soon after that, he gave up playing sports.

Before joining the UFC in 2018, he had a great deal of success fighting in Bellator, PFL, and WSOF over the ensuing years. That being said, Ivanov is a striker even with his strong sambo skills. He doesn't do much grappling, which undoubtedly hindered his potential for a better UFC career.

8. Taktarov, Oleg

Modern mixed martial arts was pioneered by Oleg Taktarov. In Russia, he is also a very well-known actor. In the early days, before weight classes, rules, or even time limits, he fought back. During his career, he prevailed over notable fighters like Tank Abbott and Marco Ruas and took home the UFC 6 title.

MMA fighters in the past were one-dimensional, single-minded specialists in their particular fighting style. Taktarov entered MMA as a fighter who represented his or her background in martial arts. Being a proficient judoka, he entered the mixed martial arts scene and was possibly the first fighter to demonstrate Sambo's power. He even received instruction from the legendary Royce Gracie in the art of sambo leg locks at one point.

7. Oleynik Alexey

Oleynik is one of the greatest grapplers in MMA history and a seasoned fighter. He was the first fighter to compete continuously against the best opponents over four distinct decades. When you discover that he has almost 50 submission victories, things get really serious. He's referred to by his fans as "The Boa Constrictor" for a reason.

Oleynik is a multi-martial-arts expert. He is a master of sport in Combat Sambo and a black belt in BJJ and Judo. He won the European title in 2001 and the world title in 2005 in sambo.

6. Ilyas Asomov

Amosov is the four-time Combat Sambo world champion and the 170 pound Bellator champion. Amosov hasn't altered his fighting style from sambo to MMA like some other fighters have. Simply watch any of Sambo's fights to get an idea of how skilled he is at mixed martial arts. The man is all about Sambo in the cage, about taking the lead and dominating.

But what people frequently overlook about Amosov is that Sambo wasn't trained by him when he was a child. No, Amosov started practising Sambo at the age of 15, unlike other fighters. However, this did not deter him from defeating Sambo mat natives to win four world titles.

In 2018, after compiling a perfect 19-0 record, Amosov signed with Bellator. It took him less than three years to win seven straight fights, defeat Douglas Lima at Bellator 260, and claim the title as the 170 pound champion.

5. Arlovski Andrei

Arlovski is a former UFC fighter who is currently engaged in competition. He has competed against the top fighters for the UFC for more than 20 years. The pitbull proves to us all that he still has it when he defeats a young prospect right before you think he is going to retire.

Arlovski has a strong sambo background, despite the fact that most fans know him as a vicious striker who can turn off your lights with a single touch. He started learning martial arts at the age of sixteen, which is a little-known fact about him.

4. Severn Dan

One of the MMA's original pioneers, Dan Severn, competed in the 1990s, a time when the sport had few regulations. His record stands at over 127 fights, 101 victories, and 77 finishes. He is regarded by the majority of MMA fans as one of the greatest MMA wrestlers of all time and a member of the US Olympic team. However, he was also a master of several other fighting arts, including Russian Sambo and Judo. His Sambo story is actually quite fascinating.

To sharpen his grappling skills, Severn trained in Judo while he was a college wrestler. Later, he would transition to compete in Sambo, where he saw considerable success, using this special combination of skills. We don't need to go into too much detail about what transpired when he later entered mixed martial arts.

3. Makhachev, Islam

Makhachev is a close friend of Khabib Nurmagomedov and one of the greatest fighters in the UFC. These two trained and competed in Sambo and wrestling while growing up together. Actually, Abdulmanap, the father of Khabib, was their coach.

Makhachev, like most children in Dagestan, became involved in combat sports at an early age, particularly sambo. Growing up, he wrestled on the mats and put in a lot of effort to be successful in MMA and sambo. He also competed in simultaneous Sambo and MMA fights for many years. Shortly after winning the Sambo world title in 2016, he made a complete commitment to MMA.

He also signed a contract with the UFC at this same period. Similar to Khabib, he relocated to the United States to train at the renowned AKA gym under the guidance of Javier Mendez.

2. Nurmagomedov Khabib

When it comes to MMA, Khabib is greatly deserving of the credit for making Combat Sambo famous. Though there have been other Sambo fighters before him, when we hear the term "Sambo," Khabib is the first person that comes to mind. The anger he incited with the t-shirt that read, "If sambo was easy, it would be called jiu-jitsu," should also not be forgotten.

Khabib began practising martial arts at a young age, first taking up wrestling and then judo. He would later begin training in combat sambo under his father, the national team's head coach at the time. During his sambo career, Khabib won two world titles and the 2009 Russian championship. He made the decision to leave Sambo at this point and devote all of his attention to pursuing an MMA career.

He made two title defences, finished 29 fights without losing, and retired as the lightweight UFC champion in 2020.

1. Fedor Emelianenko

There isn't much argument that Fedor Emelianenko isn't the best heavyweight in mixed martial arts. The man had a winning streak of 27 fights and was considered a myth for over ten years. What made him so dominant is still a tough puzzle waiting to be solved, but one of the key parts are his Combat Sambo skills. In fact, the Russian is one of the most successful Sambo fighters in the history of this sport:

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