# Gadzhi Rabadanov

Gadzhi Kadiomarovich Rabadanov (born July 1, 1993) is a Russian mixed martial artist, currently fighting in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA. He has been fighting as pro since 2013. He has previously competed in Professional Fighters League (PFL) and Fight Nights Global (FNG).
Rabadanov is a former Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC) lightweight champion. He is also won gold medal in the MMA World Championship in Prague (2015). As result Rabadanov was given International Master of Sports in mixed martial arts (MMA) for his achievements in Prague. He is also bronze medalist from World Combat Sambo Championship.
Rabadanov is the current record holder of the fastest finish in amateur MMA history, in which he submitted his opponent in 17 seconds in the very first round of the bout.

## Early life

Rabadanov was born in the city of Makhachkala, in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, on January 1, 1993, of Dargin ethnicity. He currently resides in Chelyabinsk. In his childhood, he played football and was passionate about freestyle wrestling. Rabadanov eventually switched to combat samboat the age of 17 years old, where he came under the tutelage of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
Following his graduation from high school, he combined his combat sambo training and study at the Russian Legal Academy. Rabadanov gave martial arts (Combat Sambo and MMA) his whole attention after his third year of college and began competing professionally in MMA. Ever since than he started doing professional MMA and grappling. He obtained a legal degree after graduating from the academy with honors. He is an amateur MMA champion of Russia in 2015.

## Mixed martial arts career
### Early career

In February 2013, Rabadanov made his professional MMA debut at the Octagon MMA Warriors 13 event, defeating fellow newbie Evgeniy Sokha with a kimura in the second round. He competed seven more times across local MMA promotions in Russia.
WMMAA Lightweight Champion
Rabadanov had a notable run at WMMAA World Championship at Prague, where he defeated current UFC fighters like Ľudovít Klein and Loik Radzhabov to become WMMAA Lightweight champion. It was in this tournament, where he became record holder for the fastest finish in amateur MMA history, with the record of defeating his opponent in 17 seconds in the very first round of the fight.
Return to Professional MMA
Rabadanov didn't actually compete for a major MMA organization until 2016, when he went into the Fight Nights Global promotion, for whom he successfully competed in six of their events.
Rabadanov also competed for notable MMA promotion, PFL in May 23, 2019, when he was pitted against former UFC fighter Steven "Super" Siler, which the Dagestani won via unanimous decision. He was unable to establish himself as regular fixture in PFL due to issues with weight cutting, so he opted to return to his homeland and resumed his career with the Russian MMA promotion Gorilla FC.
On February 9, 2020, Rabadanov and the Brazilian fighter, Joao Paulo de Moura e Silva were given the chance to compete for Gorilla Fighting Championships lightweight belt, after the original bout between Nurullo Aliev and Anvar Chergesov (original competitors for lightweight belt) was cancelled, at GFC 24 event, in which the Dagestani won the belt by defeating Brazilian via unanimous decision.

### Eagle Fighting Championship

The Gorilla Fighting Championship was than bought by MMA superstar Khabib Nurmagomedov for a price of one million dollar, and then rebranded as Eagle Fighting Championship. Rabadanov who remained lightweight champion under the new organization, was booked to defend his title against French fighter of Chechen origin Mehdi Dakaev, at EFC 30, on December 4, 2020. Dakaev won the fight against Rabadanov via unanimous decision and ultimately becoming the new lightweight champion.
In Rabadanov second fight for Eagle Fighting Championship, he was booked against Russian compatriot Valery Gritsutin (who was on a 6 fight winning streak), at EFC 33 event, which he won by unanimous decision. After this fight, Rabadanov went on to sign for the US-based promotion Bellator MMA.

### Bellator MMA

Rabadanov was set to make his debut for Bellator MMA against Daniel Carey, at Bellator 263 - Pitbull vs. McKee, on July 31, 2021. He KO'd the American fighter with a punch in round one of the fight.
In Rabadanov second bout for Bellator MMA, he booked to face against the Maori fighter Jay-Jay Wilson, at Bellator 276 - Borics vs. Burnell, on March 12, 2022. He defeated New Zealander via unanimous decision.
Four months later on July 22, Rabadanov was booked to face the Hawaiian fighter Bobby King, at Bellator 283 - Lima vs. Jackson event. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
In December of the same year, Rabadanov participated in a special event in co-promotion between Bellator MMA and Japan-based promotion Rizin Fighting Federation called Bellator MMA vs Rizin where he set to face off against Japanese BJJ specialist by the name of Koji Takeda. He won the fight against Takeda via unanimous decision.
In Rabadanov fifth fight for Bellator, he was booked in a bout against the Dutch adversary Pieter Buist, at Bellator 297 - Nemkov vs. Romero event, on June 16, 2023. The Dagestani defeated the Dutchman via unanimous decision on judges scorecard.

### Professional Fighters League

Rabadanov started the 2024 season with a bout against Solomon Renfro on April 12, 2024 at PFL 2. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
His second fight for 2024 season was booked against unbeaten Nicaraguan prospect, Elvin "The Prodigy" Espinoza on June 21, 2024 on the prelims of PFL 5 - Collard vs. Burnell card, at Jon M. Huntsman Center stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah. Rabadanov won the fight via (30-27) unanimous decision on all three judges scorecard. With this the Nicaraguan fighter suffered the first loss of his pro fight career.
Rabadanov faced Michael Dufort in the semifinals of the 2024 Lightweight tournament on August 16, 2024 at PFL 8. He won the fight by knockout in the second round.
In the final, Rabadanov faced Brent Primus on November 29, 2024, at PFL 10. He won the tournament including the $1 million prize by knockout in the third round.
On February 26, 2025, the promotion officially revealed that Rabadanov will join the 2025 PFL Lightweight Tournament.

## Championships and accomplishments
### Sambo

* Russian Combat Sambo Federation (RCSF)
** Russian Professional Combat Sambo Championship-Samara, Russia (2014) at 74 kg
* World Combat Sambo Federation (WCSF)
** World Combat Sambo Championship-Moscow, Russia (2014) at 74 kg

### Amateur mixed martial arts

* Russian MMA Union
** Russian Championship-Omsk, Russia (2015 at lightweight)
* World Mixed Martial Arts Association (WMMAA)
** World Championship-Prague, Czech Republic (2015 at lightweight)

### Professional mixed martial arts

* Professional Fighters League
** 2024 PFL Lightweight Championship
* Eagle Fighting Championship/Gorilla Fighting Championship
** GF Lightweight Championship (One time)

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 30 matches | 24 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 8 | 2 |
| By submission | 5 | 1 |
| By decision | 11 | 1 |
| Draws | 2 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Win | 24–4–2 | Brent Primus | KO (punches) | PFL 10 (2024) | November 29, 2024 | 3 | 2:31 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Won the 2024 PFL Lightweight Tournament. |
| Win | 23–4–2 | Michael Dufort | KO (punches) | PFL 8 (2024) | August 16, 2024 | 2 | 1:51 | Hollywood, Florida, United States | 2024 PFL Lightweight Tournament Semifinal. |
| Win | 22–4–2 | Elvin Espinoza | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 5 (2024) | June 21, 2024 | 3 | 5:00 | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States | |
| Win | 21–4–2 | Solomon Renfro | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 2 (2024) | April 12, 2024 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 20–4–2 | Pieter Buist | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 297 | June 16, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 19–4–2 | Koji Takeda | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator MMA vs. Rizin | December 31, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 18–4–2 | Bobby King | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 283 | July 12, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Tacoma, Washington, United States | |
| Win | 17–4–2 | Jay-Jay Wilson | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 276 | March 12, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Saint Louis, Missouri, United States | |
| Win | 16–4–2 | Daniel Carey | KO (punch) | Bellator 263 | July 31, 2021 | 1 | 3:57 | Inglewood, California, United States | Catchweight (150 lb) bout. |
| Win | 15–4–2 | Valery Gritsutin | Decision (unanimous) | Eagle FC 33 | February 9, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Loss | 14–4–2 | Mehdi Dakaev | Decision (unanimous) | Eagle FC 30 | December 4, 2020 | 5 | 5:00 | Moscow, Russia | Lost the Eagle FC Lightweight Championship. |
| Win | 14–3–2 | Joao Paulo de Moura e Silva | Decision (unanimous) | Gorilla Fighting 24 | February 9, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Saratov, Russia | Won the vacant GF Lightweight Championship. |
| Win | 13–3–2 | Oton Jasse | TKO (punches) | Gorilla Fighting 22 | December 13, 2019 | 3 | 1:59 | Krasnodar, Russia | |
| Win | 12–3–2 | Steven Siler | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 2 (2019) | May 23, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Uniondale, New York, United States | Featherweight bout. |
| Win | 11–3–2 | Bekbolot Abdylda | Decision (unanimous) | Fight Nights Global 90 | October 19, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Win | 10–3–2 | Igor Tarytsa | Decision (unanimous) | Fight Nights Global 83 | February 22, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Moscow, Russia | Return to Lightweight. |
| Win | 9–3–2 | Turganaly Abdullaev | TKO (punches) | Fight Nights Global 74 | September 29, 2017 | 2 | 4:59 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Draw | 8–3–2 | Evgeniy Ignatiev | Draw (overturned by Russian MMA Union) | Fight Nights Global 61 | March 11, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Bryansk, Russia | Return to Featherweight. Originally a majority decision win for Ignatiev, overturned later. |
| Loss | 8–3–1 | Kuat Khamitov | Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Fight Nights Global 57 | December 16, 2016 | 3 | 3:48 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Win | 8–2–1 | Ruslan Yamanbaev | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Fight Nights Global 51 | September 25, 2016 | 2 | 1:49 | Dagestan, Russia | Catchweight (150 lb) bout. |
| Win | 7–2–1 | Vadim Kharin | TKO (punches) | Altay League: Siberian Battle | September 14, 2014 | 1 | 2:24 | Kemerovo, Russia | |
| Win | 6–2–1 | Viskhan Magomadov | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Liga Kavkaz: Battle in Khiv 2 | August 10, 2014 | 2 | 4:57 | Dagestan, Russia | |
| Loss | 5–2–1 | Gusein Esenbaev | TKO (punches) | I.D MMA 6 | September 21, 2013 | 2 | 0:00 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | |
| Win | 5–1–1 | Asalbek Kalandarov | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Open Dag FC 5 | September 20, 2013 | 1 | 2:16 | Dagestan, Russia | |
| Win | 4–1–1 | Arslan Zagirov | TKO (punches) | Open Dag FC 3 | August 25, 2013 | 1 | 1:57 | Dagestan, Russia | |
| Draw | 3–1–1 | Islam Kamaev | Draw | Liga Kavkaz: Grand Umakhan Battle | July 7, 2013 | 2 | 5:00 | Khunzakh, Russia | |
| Win | 3–1 | Rustam Khasanov | Submission (triangle choke) | I.D MMA 3 | March 23, 2013 | 1 | 4:27 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | |
| Loss | 2–1 | Gusein Esenbaev | TKO (punches) | I.D MMA 3 | March 23, 2013 | 1 | 1:45 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | |
| Win | 2–0 | Zagir Kazakov | Submission (triangle choke) | I.D MMA 3 | March 23, 2013 | 1 | 1:21 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | Lightweight debut. |
| Win | 1–0 | Evgeny Sokha | Submission (kimura) | Octagon MMA Warriors 2013 | February 21, 2013 | 2 | 4:14 | Zhukovsky, Russia | Featherweight debut. |