Shamil Abdurakhimov is a mixed martial artist from Russia. He fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and as of October 2021, he is listed as one of the UFC’s top-ranked heavyweight fighters.
Prior to the UFC, Abdurakhimov has fought for the Abu Dhabi Fighting Championship. He is a Master of Sports in Wushu Sanda and he is an International Master of Sports in Kickboxing.
| Height / weight | 1.91 m / 117 kg |
| Born | 2 Sep 1981 |
| Nationality |
Russian Federation
|
Athlete Bio and Personal Life
Abdurakhimov was born on September 2, 1981 in Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia. He still resides and fights out of Makhachkala. He stands 6 feet 3 inches or 191 cm. His reach is 193 cm or 76 inches and his listed weight is 258 pounds or 117 kg. His fighting style is Wushu Sanda, Kickboxing, and Freestyle Wrestling.
His family is descended from the Avar people and he started practicing wrestling at a young age. He also served in the Army.
When he got out of the army, he participated in national championships and became the Russian National Championship for Shanshou. He won the title five times.
Professional Career
Abdurakhimov started his professional MMA career with the Abu Dhabi Fighting Championship. While there, he participated in the 2010 ADFC: Battle of the Champions. At that event, he won against Jeff Monson.
In 2010, he fought Remeau Sokodoudjou and Abdurakhimov won via TKO. His last fight with Abu Dhabi was against Marcos Oliveira.
While with the ADFC, he won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and he was also the ADFC Heavyweight Champion at one point.
In 2015, Abdurakhimov was signed to the UFC. He lost his debut fight to Timothy Johnson. His next UFC fight was with Anthony Hamilton. It ended in a win for Abdurakhimov, via unanimous decision.
Other UFC players he has fought against include Derrick Lewis, Walt Harris, Chase Sherman, Andrei Arlovski, Marcin Tybura, Curtis Blaydes, and Agusto Sakai. He was supposed to fight with Cyril Gane, but Gane pulled out due to a pneumothorax. The bout was rescheduled but those fell through. Abdurakhimov was also supposed to go against Chris Daukaus but that was canceled due to COVID-19.
The fight with Daukaus was rescheduled for September 2021, Abdurakhimov lost.
Mixed Martial Arts Record
Total: 26
Wins: 20
Wins by Knockout: 9
Wins by Submission: 4
Wins by Decision: 7
Losses: 6
Losses by Knockout: 4
Losses by Submission: 1
Losses by Decision: 1