Muslim Salikhov
Muslim Salikhov (born June 9, 1984), is a Russian mixed martial artist and Sanda fighter who currently competes in welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A multiple time Wushu Sanda world champion, Salikhov occupies a place alongside Hossein Ojaghi as one of only two non-Chinese athletes to have won the Wushu Sanda King's Cup. Personal life. Muslim is an alumnus of the famous Dagestani sports-dedicated boarding school Five Directions of the World. Wushu. Wushu Sanda. Salikhov faced Liu Hailong who held the title "King of Sanda" at the 2003 World Wushu Championships in  Macau. Both were evenly matched, with Liu Hailong declared the winner. Salikhov was the Sanshou champion at the 2004 European Wushu Championships held in Moscow and he became the World Champion in 2005. Muslim Salikhov is often acknowledged as one of the best Wushu Sanda competitors in history. In February 2006, he participated in the first international "King of Sanda" tournament in Chongqing and became the first non-Chinese to win the title. He again won the world title in 2007 and 2009. At the World Wushu Championships, he became one of the most decorated sanda athletes of all time  and was the first sanda athlete to win five gold medals. He was also a gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament, and won medals at the 2009 World Games and the World Combat Games. Mixed martial arts. Early career. Salikhov made his professional MMA debut in July 2011. Over the next year and a half, he earned a record of two wins and one loss. M-1 Global. By early 2013, Salikhov signed with M-1 Global, preparing with Phuket Top Team for his mixed martial arts debut. He fought three times for the promotion, going undefeated during this run . Other promotions. Beginning in 2015, Salikhov fought for various regional promotions in China and Russia. He has fought seven times over the last two years, again remaining undefeated in this run with six of the sevens wins coming via knockout. Salikhov notched his biggest win to date when he earned a victory over UFC and Bellator vet Melvin Guillard by spinning hook kick. Ultimate Fighting Championship. On October 19, 2017, Salikhov signed with the UFC. In his debut for the promotion, Salikhov faced Alex Garcia on November 25, 2017 at . He lost the fight via submission in the second round . Salikhov faced Abdul Razak Alhassan on April 14, 2018 on . However, Alhassan was pulled from the card, citing injury, and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Ricky Rainey. He won the fight via technical knock out in round two. On July 20, 2018, Salikhov was notified of a potential doping violation by USADA from an out-of-competition sample collected on June 7, 2018. On March 4, 2019 Salikhov was cleared of USADA suspension as USADA could not determine if Salikhov had ingested oral Turinabol a year before he was signed to the UFC and entered the USADA drug-testing  program. Salikhov faced Nordine Taleb on September 7, 2019 at UFC 242. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win earned him the "Performance of the Night" award. Salikhov faced Laureano Staropoli on October 26, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 20. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Salikhov was expected to face Niko Price on April 11, 2020 at . However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually postponed and pairing scrapped. Salikhov faced Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on July 11, 2020 at UFC 251. He won the fight via a split decision. Salikhov  was scheduled to face Cláudio Silva on October 18, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 180. However on October 4, it was announced that Salikhov pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by James Krause. Salikhov was scheduled to face Santiago Ponzinibbio on January 16, 2021 at UFC on ABC 1. However, Salikhov pulled out of the bout in mid-December citing health issues after contracting COVID-19. Salikhov faced Francisco Trinaldo on June 5, 2021 at UFC Fight Night 189. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Salikhov was scheduled to face Michel Pereira on January 15, 2022 at  UFC on ESPN 32. However, Salikhov withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and the bout was cancelled. Sanda and kickboxing professional record (incomplete). ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white | ! style=background:white |