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Never did mate, it never did. Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov did it for his own little team of students and they are doing well, the rest aren't and don't even mention a bum like Shavkat who is merely the biggest aura merchant in history. Like he's one guy from Kazakhstan ranked in the top 10... Ok that's nothing impressive, where are the other Kazakh killers at? Damir Ismagulov is the next best thing legit.
This has nothing to do with USSR. Georgians were always famous for their strength and fighting, whether you look at USSR time, Iran, Ottoman, Byzantium or whichever empire encountered Georgians in war or in sports all say the same.. That extends to other Caucasian people as well in some extend and middle Asia was also always famous for wrestling and tournaments were held during Iran and Mongolian rule (where again, Georgians were considered as the best)
@alekspatsatsia2715 Im not saying you are wrong, but USSR's incentives for combat athletes to reach the Olympics has got to do something with the regions excellence in combat sports, no?
yeah this guys has no clue in a way cause georgia as a warrior culture is older than almost every country or culture so screw soviet union they didnt change shit for georgia in that sense.
It’s because they put emphasis on having long amateur careers which helps build technique and fundamentals. You see it in boxing too with Bivol, Usyk, Golovkin etc.
@@ARR409 They value Olympics very highly. Stark contrast with Mexicans who become professional in their late 10s. When Canelo lost to Mayweather when he was 42-0-1, Lomachenko still hadn’t even made his debut in pros. He did later in the same year when Bradley and Marquez fought
I've been saying the absolute same thing for the past couple of years. Post USSR countries athletes in a lot, if not all, combat sports have been a thing for quite some time now. They were always great. It was just a matter of time before they could translate their greatness in MMA.
While it is true it feels like a forced narrative. For example Georgia, Ukraine and khazstan which are completely different cultures, It's like saying the Americas or Africa or south Asia with the Aussies and Micronesians are on the rise. I already feel unconfutable calling the middle eastern counties in the Russian federation or the Asian countries past the Siberian mountains Russian Fighters. There's only so much land on earth a certain point were just grouping unrelated people by imaginary lines and maybe taxes if it could be enforced. I would sooner say khazstan is on the rise due to Asian culture pacifically Mongolian culture or Ukraine due to European culture pacifically or Georgia due to middle east culture pacifically Caucasian culture. Then technically these countries were in the same imaginary lines fifty years ago and technically were at war, which just ignores history in practice none of those things are actually true due to logistics, Hince why Rome became two empires, and all the old empires collapsed. This is more correlation and tunnel vision rather than causation and fact. As much as I would like to claim Alex Peria as an American champion, which Brazil has more in common with the US then Oblask has in common with dagastan, it would be an absurd statement to make. let alone go a step further in saying something like Aussies are greater Americans so Volk championships are actually because of the US and count as American champs.
As someone from the post Soviet Union Country, i agree that Sambo has played big role for producing those top MMA fighters but, Sambo is just one piece in the puzzle. There are many other factors, like Culture, Genetics and poverty, that play huge role. Most of those guys that you listed are from really bad areas, with a lot of crime and violance so Parents put their kids in sports, and sometimes in Combat sports to help them avoid the streets and that lifestyle. Many of the Post soviet countries (maybe all of them) have a rich Culture in combat sports, and have been practicing combat sports long before Sambo was Created. (for example, Georgia had Georgian Wrestling, which Predates Judo and freestyle (and maybe even Greco-roman). And also, fighting is natural for many people that come from those areas, since they have been fighting all their history, especially the Caucasian region. Georgia, Armenia, all those northern Caucasus countries that are now considered Russia (even tho they aren't Russian and have been envaded by the Russians) like Chechnya, Dagestan etc. have a long history of fighting, they have fought against almost every Empire you can think of. So i guess, it's much more complex than that.
If you are from post ussr then you know that sambo did not come from thin air… all this countries already practiced wrestling style for centuries… “Sambo's early development stemmed from the independent efforts of Vasili Oshchepkov and Viktor Spiridonov to integrate the techniques of Catch wrestling, Judo, Jujutsu, and other foreign martial arts into native Turkic wrestling styles, Armenian kokh, Romanian trântă, Mongolian khapsagay and Georgian chidaoba.”
That's true, you can just see it in his face, that man is the goat. The vision he has in his eyes, never saw anything like it. It's like he's looking at something none of us can see... Like he's looking at the stone age.
@lionelmessisburner7393 True. From Georgia, I also really do believe hard times helped too. That's why Latinamericans and Caucasian (Mountaneers) have such a fighting mentality as we have gone through brutal wars as recently as last two decades.
Soviets are some of the best fighters in the world. I’ve fought two guys from former soviet nations (Ukraine and Latvia) in Kickboxing and their skill level was tremendous. Great timing, precision and footwork!
@@sanjarbek129 hence why I said FORMER if you actually cared to read my comment. I am fully aware they are all independent nationalities but their abilities as combatants primarily stem from the Soviet era. Whole point of this video and discussion.
Georgia(my country),Dagestan and Kazakhstan have great fighters but I don’t think that’s because they are former Soviet nations,even if Soviet Union didn’t existed,the people of this countries would still like this sport
I’m Georgian and probably a little older then you and I think Soviet Union had a lot to do with it but why it worked for Caucasus and central Asians more is just something in our genes but the system forsure helped .. but you are right to because the same system never worked on Slavic Russians as much as.. it was defiantly first Caucasus n central Asian republics
UFC got rid of Mokaev but there is another scary "USSR fighter" to succeed him in the division, that is Shavkat's national Asu Almabayev a potential champ
Combat Sambo has roots in the Caucasus region, drawing influence from traditional martial arts like Georgian **Chidaoba**, Armenian **Koch**, and other regional wrestling styles. These ancient combat traditions, known for their grappling and throwing techniques, contributed to the development of Sambo as a versatile and practical system. The Caucasus martial heritage helped shape Sambo’s emphasis on balance, strength, and real-world combat effectiveness.
Georgian here. The Soviet Union had nothing to do with the people's success in post-Soviet Union countries. The countries like Georgia - we have our national wrestling called "Chidaoba" - ჭიდაობა. We have been wrestling since the beginning of the ages. Plus the region is in the mountains, which helps to develop stronger lungs, all our existence, we have been attacked by different empires, and only the strongest people survived and eventually, you have genetics that are well suited for combat sports. Same for Dagestan, Khazahastan, etc. It's culture and genetics. Take 5 million people, let them wrestle, pick the top 10 and you have the champion.
@@faunt07 Dude... I live in the fourth generation wrestlers family. Soviet Union was promoting sports and ect, yes this is correct. But good wrestlers are from Specific regions with the history and culture of the sport. For example, Russia is good in Ice Hockey, but you will never see Ice Hockey players from Dagestan. Specific regions of the world have specific cultural sports that are evolved and used in the MMA. Saying that inventing Sambo did the heavy lift is simply wrong
As an algerian who train MMA in can tell that Fighter like " islam , khabib and arman" truly inspire my aproach to martial art but their biggest factor is especially their mentality and discipline compare to western fighter they leave a clean life and never stop training
I’ve trained under a soviet boxing/mma coach. the major difference in training is simply the discipline and intensity. A soviet boxing coach will push you to limits you didn’t know existed; all while having you do great exercises. That combo is the absolute recipe for any fighter. You develop not only an insane physical amount of skill and capability as a fighter, but your mental fortitude I think might even exceed that.
Mokaev was being a huge liability for the company, especially with doing shit like sucker punching kape. He does all of this while not having any of the popularity or excitement on his side, I don't know what he expected
mokaev is a very easy matchup for erceg, kkf, taira, and pantoja. his best win is a fight against perez he barely won. same perez taira finished within 2. mokaev was barely top 10 material, and he got cut for jumping kape and trying to leverage pfl pay for a better contract. on top of being boring as fuck. he will not be missed
@nenenindonu mokaev constantly struggled against significantly lower level comp then pantoja and he is very clearly not a better grappler or striker mokaev has nothing for the top of the division
I hate it when Americans just group like half of Eurasia and say it's Soviet country. It's gone now. It's like saying all the great footballers like Messi and shit are coming from Spanish colonies.
I get your point but you can’t deny that they were 1 country around 30 years ago. Most of them still speak Russian. It is what it is, let’s hope that such empires will never merge again.
Good timing TJ, i told a buddy of mine this morning about Russian and countries in proximity of Russia having the best fighters in the world at this time😊
In a nutshell: 1. The Soviet Union's obsession with athletic achievement produced some of the best coaches in many disciplines, including martial arts. 2. The low standard of living in this region creates the most motivated athletes. 3. A sincere love of martial arts among the populations of countries ending with “stan”. 4. The randomness factor. Khabib has become a global star, partly to Conor's credit for making their fight and Khabib's legacy known to the world. Athletes from this region had their own superstar showing “Look, I did it and so can you”.
I think people really are missing that last point. A global superstar doesn’t just create motivated athletes, it creates facilities, dedicated trainers, and most importantly, pride.
Take some random guy from Caucasus, especially Dagestan and make him wrestle in some regional tournament in US or Europe, he would probably smash everyone there😂 The same goes with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, these guys have CRAZY boxing level.
An interesting historical fact too is that all of these guys were kids at a time where war lords and Russian soldiers were at war and committing unspeakable crimes in that area of the world. The young boys there had to know how to defend themselves
I am from Kazakhstan and I noticed that some guys from the post-Soviet space do not recognize the influence of the Soviet system on the achievements of today's athletes. This is wrong. It was the Soviet system that created the unique boxing, wrestling and sambo techniques, the fruits of which are still used today. Where are the coaches from? From the Soviet Union! I believe that if you do not like the USSR, then this is your personal opinion, but not recognizing its achievements is not competent, not objective.
No they wouldn't. It's an accurate and useful term which is widely used in the former soviet union too in the right context. Im born and raised here so i know
Possible to have mostly Muslim champions: - Flyweight: Amir Albazi - Bantamweight: Umar - Lightweight: Islam - Welterweight: Belal or Shavkat - LightHeavtweight: Magomed
Soviet union did not really make post soviet countries good at some sports or anything. For example Georgians have always been very physically strong. In fact most of soviet unions wins in different sports are from other post soviet countries than russia.
Even my school sport in east Germany was alot about being athletic we had so much gymnastics and athletic competitions because ofcth Soviet era twenty years later i still feel the benefits in my mma training
Great video, but I think it's a bit shallow. You made it seem like it was Sambo and Soviet Union who can take credit for raising such a good wrestlers. If you had dug deeper, you'd discover that there is an even bigger reason why Sambo got so popular in these counties - the ground was already very fertile. Caucasia (both north and south) and Central Asia have not centuries, but millennia of wrestling traditions. Each sub-region, country nation, had its own form of wrestling that played a huge part in local sports and traditions. Now, with the help of UFC, these rich roots just find their way on a worldwide stage.
Not only UFC. Boxing has champions many champions from ex-USSR countries: Oleksandr Usyk, Vasily Lomachenko, Dmitry Bivol, Artur Beterbiev, Eimantas Stanionis (WBA title), Klitchko brothers and many more... Oleksandr Khyzniak just won gold in Paris.
Bro lets be realistic, in neither middleweight or heavyweight is there any chance of one of these soviet union guys winning. Khamzats hasn't been healthy for basically 2 years and his last win was a extremely close fight against a washed Kamuru Usman and Volkov has no chance of beating Aspinall end of.
If not Khamzat, Imavov can beat Du Plessis, it's a tailor made match-up for him, he's a better striker than Adesanya and surely a better wrestler more or less the same level as Dricus. people bashing him for the Strickland defeat don't understand MMA math.
One thing you said is very true about them being trained in combat sambo since they were kids, their endurance and grappling is next level because of that. Second reason is that soviet Union or Russia recently was very notorious for steroid use so much so that they were banned for some time from the Olympics, all the dagies competing in the UFC are definitely on steroids, 4 out of idk how many of khabib's teammates tested positive for meladonium specifically and coincidentally all of them have heart issues which is why they take them. That being said their training style is also very different from ours in the way that in khabib's camp they never train very intensely, everything is slow and very technical they only train hard when they're approaching a fight whereas with us guys are just constantly training hard probably not recovering enough and getting injured many times or allowing the wear and tear to show early on their bodies
The Soviet Union has nothing to do with it. Even during the Soviet era, Caucasian athletes dominated sport whether it be footbal, wrestling or chess. The vast majority of famous wrestlers were Caucasians, so, it's not surprising at all that Caucasian fighters are dominating UFC.
Well, I am from region, and I don't think this is accurate : most of these guys are from other background than combat sambo. Dagestanis and Arman mostly from freestyle wrestling, Topuria frome greco roman and BJJ, Dvalishvili from judo, Dolidze was goalkeeper in soccer befor starting bjj in his 20s. Some of them did some combat sambo, like Khabib or Islam earlier, or Merab lately. but it is not game changer. You can also mention that these countries have their local wrestling traditions, same quite similar to judo. But most of all, its martial arts culture and toughness.
We have too much anger to Russia and not sure about North Caucasians, but both Merab and Ilia have shown their condemnation of Russia's policies towards Georgia; Ilia's family became a refugee because of Russia's war against Georgia in 90s. Besides, Judo is big in Georgia and if you check the world ranking by nationality, Georgia is fourth after Japan, France and a group of individuals without nationalities, which is a very good ranking considering the number of the population.
Our countries close to fighting. We appreciate tough people. This the reason, not the sambo or wrestling etc. We just have mindset to be strong for any situations. We have good strikers too, for example GGG, Bivol, Beterbiev, Klitchko.. So many else... Even we're good on full strike like kickboxing, muai thai. Us fans seeing only small part of what we can do. Mma just become popular 15 years ago, you'll see many talented people from our countries. This is only beginning
I was born and raised in Kazakhstan. Sambo was Jiujitsu copycat, and never had large following as wrestling or boxing. It’s all about warrior culture of Caucasus region and Central Asia. Note. Not many ethnic Russians are in the UFC.
You are missing a big portion of why ex-Soviet Republics dominate or can dominate mma. First off, Dana White will not allow a full Soviet takeover, he is all about the benjamins and needs to spread the "love" and have marketable fighters in the ring, which isn't always the case with ex-Soviet fighters. Since I was born in Soviet Union and in Caucases, I can tell you that male kids are enrolled in combat sports in high numbers. Men naturally are tougher, more masculine culturally, the alpha mentality for a man, being able to defend himself is also a natural part of a man's psyche there. Men are more aggressive, and often are more hot-headed and resolve conflicts with their hands from early age. It is just part of life there. Combat schools are everywhere, and there is a large variety of them.
In fact, it is not the Soviet regime that plays a big role, but the culture and mentality of these regions. All good fighters are from the Caucasus and Central Asia. If everything depended on the legacy of the USSR, there would be many champions from countries such as Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus and so on. Even in the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet, fighters from the Caucasus and Central Asia are considered favorites in local competitions.
not soviet union. its caucasus region made best fighters. The Caucasus is inhabited by people whose ancestors throughout history have been in constant struggle with each other and with external conquering empires. Our culture forgives a man everything except fear and timidity to not respond even to an opponent much stronger than him. If this was the merit of the Soviet Union, then the Russians should dominate in this sport, since this is the most numerous nation in the Soviet Union.
You are correct it's predominantly Caucasus... But still, that is what kind of unites them all historically Caucasus and Central Asia: UFC Takeover by Former USSR Powerhouses 🥇💪 The Caucasus and Central Asia, formerly part of the USSR, are taking over the UFC scene, producing elite fighters and champions across divisions. 🇦🇲 Armenia (2.8 million): Arman Tsarukyan - Lightweight contender known for grappling and striking. 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan (10.1 million): 🇬🇪 Georgia (3.7 million): Ilia Topuria - Undefeated featherweight with powerful striking; Merab Dvalishvili - Bantamweight contender with relentless wrestling. 🇷🇺 Dagestan, Russia (3.1 million): Islam Makhachev - UFC Lightweight Champion, representing elite Dagestani wrestling; Khamzat Chimaev (Chechnya) - Welterweight and middleweight powerhouse known for rapid finishes; Umar Nurmagomedov - Bantamweight contender with strong striking and wrestling; Magomed Ankalaev - Light heavyweight contender blending striking and grappling. 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan (19 million): Shavkat Rakhmonov - Undefeated welterweight with a versatile style. 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan (6.5 million): Valentina Shevchenko - Former Flyweight Champion, known for elite striking. These former USSR regions are not just competing; they are dominating and reshaping the landscape of the UFC. 🌍🥋🔥
It's not about Soviet Union per se, it's more that men from that region, specifically Caucasus mountains, are natural born fighters. It's in their DNA. Just about every boy has to know how to fight growing up - either sambo, or boxing, or wrestling - some kind of fighting sport. The percentage of fighters per capita is probably the highest in the world in Chechnya/Dagestan region, that's why you see all these great champions coming from such a small region.
i mean you might be right about some stuff but georgia was a warrior cuture way before 99 % of the modern countries existed soviet union didnthelp georgia in that trust me.
Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬 has a lot of great fighters Orolbai is not the best male fighter from Kyrgyzstan, we've got a lot of undefeated fighters in Rizin, One Fc, ACA, Brave FC, LFA etc. If they make it to the UFC, UFC is doomed
its not about soviet's influence, actually soviet does't have something related to that caucasus already had such fighters (i meant genetically strong not in specified sport) long before soviet :)
All of these fighters are a result of the chaos of the post Soviet era. Since when the Soviet Union fell it brought with it a lot of poverty, civil wars, and chaos. So many parents had to teach their young children how to defend themselves just to survive.
No it realy isnt. This fighters are the result of thousands of years of war culture. Georgia has had so many wars repighout theier huge history. So did all kaukasus. And kirgyistan and kazakhstan are nomadic tribed which are also warrior countrys. Nlthing zo do with soviet union. Soviet union was just a mere glimpse in theier history.
Да хватит сочинять сказки. Я сам с Кавказа, но многие кавказцы прям сказочники. Прям такие могучие воины, что почему-то Россия всех победила и подчинила.
There is the possibility this happens but its unlikely that all these guys will be champ plus half of them dont even train in their countries some of them dont even represent them. And belal isn't from that region
@aalytoks9755 nah not all of them. I mean khamzat trained mma in Sweden his whole career now in the uae. Same with toporio he trained in Spain and hes not even representing or pushing for ufc Georgia. My point is half of them dont train there or never have so how can we attribute the success to that region when all of them move to other countries as pros their whole career. Like we couldn't say Nigeria had the best fighters either because usman and izzy trained in the US or new Zealand their whole career
@rainbowstalin594 he did his victory tour through Spain and walked out to Spanish music, spoke Spanish at the press conferences, again he's pushing for ufc spain and lives and trains there. Not saying he's not Georgian buy I'm saying you can't put his success under that flag because non of his career took place in his home country
I was watching this vid before the UFC #309 #NocheUFC and i was like ehh maybe this guy is onto something if Merab and Valentina win and what do u know they did lol. So yea i guess ur right dude the Soviet Union fighters might take over!
I think this is part of the reason ankalaev didn’t get a title shot, and suga is talking like he wants to duck umar and move up to 145 after only 2 defenses
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@@tjlovesfights bro make one on how Beterbiev beats Bivol and how Bivol beats Beterbiev
Never did mate, it never did.
Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov did it for his own little team of students and they are doing well, the rest aren't and don't even mention a bum like Shavkat who is merely the biggest aura merchant in history. Like he's one guy from Kazakhstan ranked in the top 10... Ok that's nothing impressive, where are the other Kazakh killers at? Damir Ismagulov is the next best thing legit.
Soviet Union’s influence still being there even after 33 years of being dissolved in both Boxing and MMA is insane
And Chernobyl/prypiat (rip)
Dont forget about wrestling
This has nothing to do with USSR. Georgians were always famous for their strength and fighting, whether you look at USSR time, Iran, Ottoman, Byzantium or whichever empire encountered Georgians in war or in sports all say the same.. That extends to other Caucasian people as well in some extend and middle Asia was also always famous for wrestling and tournaments were held during Iran and Mongolian rule (where again, Georgians were considered as the best)
@alekspatsatsia2715 Im not saying you are wrong, but USSR's incentives for combat athletes to reach the Olympics has got to do something with the regions excellence in combat sports, no?
@@mys0719 No, if that was true most USSR countries would be doing good and that's not the case
Watching this after merab just won the title
And shevchenko
yeah this guys has no clue in a way cause georgia as a warrior culture is older than almost every country or culture so screw soviet union they didnt change shit for georgia in that sense.
2:25 Skip ad
W mans
Goated comment it came up as soon as he said it
Thanks
GOAT
You’re a great man
It’s because they put emphasis on having long amateur careers which helps build technique and fundamentals. You see it in boxing too with Bivol, Usyk, Golovkin etc.
@@ARR409 They value Olympics very highly. Stark contrast with Mexicans who become professional in their late 10s. When Canelo lost to Mayweather when he was 42-0-1, Lomachenko still hadn’t even made his debut in pros. He did later in the same year when Bradley and Marquez fought
Most of these people did not have long amateur mma careers they trained in other sports.
@@EliasRoythey need money which is why they turn pro at 15 and on. I see nothing wrong with that.
@@Quietplague2000nothing wrong with it, but it does manifest in the technically perfect style and the consistency among the Soviet athletes.
That’s a good point, and most of the Russian mma fighters have a long career in Judo or Sambo before they even do amateur MMA
I've been saying the absolute same thing for the past couple of years. Post USSR countries athletes in a lot, if not all, combat sports have been a thing for quite some time now. They were always great. It was just a matter of time before they could translate their greatness in MMA.
While it is true it feels like a forced narrative.
For example Georgia, Ukraine and khazstan which are completely different cultures,
It's like saying the Americas or Africa or south Asia with the Aussies and Micronesians are on the rise.
I already feel unconfutable calling the middle eastern counties in the Russian federation or the Asian countries past the Siberian mountains Russian Fighters.
There's only so much land on earth a certain point were just grouping unrelated people by imaginary lines and maybe taxes if it could be enforced.
I would sooner say khazstan is on the rise due to Asian culture pacifically Mongolian culture or Ukraine due to European culture pacifically or Georgia due to middle east culture pacifically Caucasian culture.
Then technically these countries were in the same imaginary lines fifty years ago and technically were at war, which just ignores history in practice none of those things are actually true due to logistics, Hince why Rome became two empires, and all the old empires collapsed.
This is more correlation and tunnel vision rather than causation and fact.
As much as I would like to claim Alex Peria as an American champion, which Brazil has more in common with the US then Oblask has in common with dagastan, it would be an absurd statement to make.
let alone go a step further in saying something like Aussies are greater Americans so Volk championships are actually because of the US and count as American champs.
@@Evan-i4e What are you yapping about 🤣🤣
@@Evan-i4e American trying to project their fake imperialism
@@Evan-i4elittle correction brother georgia isnt a middle eastern culture culturally its closest to european
@@Evan-i4e Sir, this is wendies
As someone from the post Soviet Union Country, i agree that Sambo has played big role for producing those top MMA fighters but, Sambo is just one piece in the puzzle. There are many other factors, like Culture, Genetics and poverty, that play huge role. Most of those guys that you listed are from really bad areas, with a lot of crime and violance so Parents put their kids in sports, and sometimes in Combat sports to help them avoid the streets and that lifestyle. Many of the Post soviet countries (maybe all of them) have a rich Culture in combat sports, and have been practicing combat sports long before Sambo was Created. (for example, Georgia had Georgian Wrestling, which Predates Judo and freestyle (and maybe even Greco-roman).
And also, fighting is natural for many people that come from those areas, since they have been fighting all their history, especially the Caucasian region. Georgia, Armenia, all those northern Caucasus countries that are now considered Russia (even tho they aren't Russian and have been envaded by the Russians) like Chechnya, Dagestan etc. have a long history of fighting, they have fought against almost every Empire you can think of. So i guess, it's much more complex than that.
If you are from post ussr then you know that sambo did not come from thin air… all this countries already practiced wrestling style for centuries…
“Sambo's early development stemmed from the independent efforts of Vasili Oshchepkov and Viktor Spiridonov to integrate the techniques of Catch wrestling, Judo, Jujutsu, and other foreign martial arts into native Turkic wrestling styles, Armenian kokh, Romanian trântă, Mongolian khapsagay and Georgian chidaoba.”
I lived alongside many Russians in Harbin, China And they were quarrelsome.
Shavkat is really who y’all thought Khamzat was
Shavkat is just as active as Khamazt while having worse wins lol. Can’t wait for Belal to 50 40 him in their championship bout.
@@machoboys8884 Tell Khamzat to make weight and actually stay healthy. Til then you stay salty
@@casualtw10 no you just made a terrible comparison dude.
Shankar is the most overrated fighter rn
@@diegovazquez3566what if he wins the belt
Dont forget the Goat Myktybek Orolbai🗿🐐
He outwrestled Belal Muhammad as a LIGHTWEIGHT
Goated neanderthal
The Siberian Unicorn 🦏
@@nenenindonu Kyrgyzstan is about as close to Siberia as it is to Africa lol. Petr Yan is the Siberian UFC fighter, not Orolbai
That's true, you can just see it in his face, that man is the goat.
The vision he has in his eyes, never saw anything like it. It's like he's looking at something none of us can see... Like he's looking at the stone age.
Don't forget the goat Fedor
lol the goat 🤣🤣🤣 look at how skilled his opponents were definitely didn’t look like unskilled cavemen compared to modern fighters
Dude did not just call Fedor the goat
@@bigruckus8664 🤡🤡🤡
😂
MMA Heavyweight GOAT, not the MMA GOAT
Hard times create strong men
Hush
Facts
That’s not it at all. It’s all just genetics and culture. They like combat stuff and they are genetically good
@lionelmessisburner7393 True. From Georgia, I also really do believe hard times helped too. That's why Latinamericans and Caucasian (Mountaneers) have such a fighting mentality as we have gone through brutal wars as recently as last two decades.
Yes but mostly is hard times. End of story.
islam isn't undefeated, also Shavkat is undefeated 5:02
Soviets are some of the best fighters in the world. I’ve fought two guys from former soviet nations (Ukraine and Latvia) in Kickboxing and their skill level was tremendous. Great timing, precision and footwork!
They're not soviets ffs. They have their own distinct nationalities
@@sanjarbek129 hence why I said FORMER if you actually cared to read my comment. I am fully aware they are all independent nationalities but their abilities as combatants primarily stem from the Soviet era. Whole point of this video and discussion.
@@sanjarbek129
Soviet isn't an ethnicity
Came back here after ufc 306….Merab and Valentina both dominated…..The Soviet Union is taking over and we can’t stop it…..
Georgia(my country),Dagestan and Kazakhstan have great fighters but I don’t think that’s because they are former Soviet nations,even if Soviet Union didn’t existed,the people of this countries would still like this sport
soviet system gave them advanced sports methods, technique and culture
I’m Georgian and probably a little older then you and I think Soviet Union had a lot to do with it but why it worked for Caucasus and central Asians more is just something in our genes but the system forsure helped .. but you are right to because the same system never worked on Slavic Russians as much as.. it was defiantly first Caucasus n central Asian republics
UFC got rid of Mokaev but there is another scary "USSR fighter" to succeed him in the division, that is Shavkat's national Asu Almabayev a potential champ
Combat Sambo has roots in the Caucasus region, drawing influence from traditional martial arts like Georgian **Chidaoba**, Armenian **Koch**, and other regional wrestling styles. These ancient combat traditions, known for their grappling and throwing techniques, contributed to the development of Sambo as a versatile and practical system. The Caucasus martial heritage helped shape Sambo’s emphasis on balance, strength, and real-world combat effectiveness.
I admire the Caucasus champs grit & perseverance. Ilia Topuria & Arman Tsarukyan are in my top5
Bro make a video on How Bivol beats Beterbiev and how Beterbiev beats Bivol
I absolutely love this video
It caters nicely to 2 of my favourite topics
Combat and History /Geography
Make a video on how Uzbekistan (almost) clean swooped in the 2024 Paris Olympics Boxing
You and draftkings moving diabolical
Georgian here. The Soviet Union had nothing to do with the people's success in post-Soviet Union countries. The countries like Georgia - we have our national wrestling called "Chidaoba" - ჭიდაობა. We have been wrestling since the beginning of the ages. Plus the region is in the mountains, which helps to develop stronger lungs, all our existence, we have been attacked by different empires, and only the strongest people survived and eventually, you have genetics that are well suited for combat sports. Same for Dagestan, Khazahastan, etc. It's culture and genetics. Take 5 million people, let them wrestle, pick the top 10 and you have the champion.
Не пизди. По самбо также выступает Грузия.
@@oberamagold3581 сам Не пизди сынок. В Грузии наиболее популярно дзюдо, а не самбо. А еще грузинская борьба.
@@oberamagold3581 Русская ваня , желаю тебе завидовать грузинам , всю свою никчемную жизнь ! 😂
Wrong. Soviets made combat sports a system, set up a strong basis.
@@faunt07 Dude... I live in the fourth generation wrestlers family. Soviet Union was promoting sports and ect, yes this is correct. But good wrestlers are from Specific regions with the history and culture of the sport. For example, Russia is good in Ice Hockey, but you will never see Ice Hockey players from Dagestan. Specific regions of the world have specific cultural sports that are evolved and used in the MMA. Saying that inventing Sambo did the heavy lift is simply wrong
As an algerian who train MMA in can tell that Fighter like " islam , khabib and arman" truly inspire my aproach to martial art but their biggest factor is especially their mentality and discipline compare to western fighter they leave a clean life and never stop training
I think this is it. Guys in Khabib's team take "get gud" to a whole new level, because "getting gud" is all they do day n nite.
@@HornetLarryArman Tsarukyan? You must have confused with him someone else
0:19 Oh boy, he did
I’ve trained under a soviet boxing/mma coach. the major difference in training is simply the discipline and intensity.
A soviet boxing coach will push you to limits you didn’t know existed; all while having you do great exercises. That combo is the absolute recipe for any fighter.
You develop not only an insane physical amount of skill and capability as a fighter, but your mental fortitude I think might even exceed that.
11:23 Yeah, because they decided to CUT Mokaev. Boring or not, he is a top flyweight, and a very hard matchup against the champion.
Lmfao do you actually believe the guy who struggled with manel Kape is tough for the champion? Delusional take.
@@golddragon937431That's not how MMA math works, also Mokaev is a very young fighter
Mokaev was being a huge liability for the company, especially with doing shit like sucker punching kape. He does all of this while not having any of the popularity or excitement on his side, I don't know what he expected
mokaev is a very easy matchup for erceg, kkf, taira, and pantoja. his best win is a fight against perez he barely won. same perez taira finished within 2. mokaev was barely top 10 material, and he got cut for jumping kape and trying to leverage pfl pay for a better contract. on top of being boring as fuck. he will not be missed
@nenenindonu mokaev constantly struggled against significantly lower level comp then pantoja and he is very clearly not a better grappler or striker mokaev has nothing for the top of the division
I hate it when Americans just group like half of Eurasia and say it's Soviet country. It's gone now. It's like saying all the great footballers like Messi and shit are coming from Spanish colonies.
I get your point but you can’t deny that they were 1 country around 30 years ago. Most of them still speak Russian. It is what it is, let’s hope that such empires will never merge again.
Why you can't respect your history? Radio Freedom told you can't?
@@sats_merchant33most georgians hate speaking russian and even avoid it
@@Tolmasmoyvaruli Bro I don't deny that all. Especially not for Georgians.
@@Tolmasmoyvaruli except when they want my money, which happens every time I visit😁
70% of Sambo is just Judo but for Gulag, Tovarish
Да товарищи
Sambo was made on the basis of Georgian chidaoba which is similar to judo
Good timing TJ, i told a buddy of mine this morning about Russian and countries in proximity of Russia having the best fighters in the world at this time😊
Generally the best combat sport athletes either come from the US, Latin America or Ex USSR countries
Thx pajeet i already knew this
@@Dauletcrzn Tf? He’s Filipino origin 🤣🤣
@@EliasRoy don’t really care
In a nutshell:
1. The Soviet Union's obsession with athletic achievement produced some of the best coaches in many disciplines, including martial arts.
2. The low standard of living in this region creates the most motivated athletes.
3. A sincere love of martial arts among the populations of countries ending with “stan”.
4. The randomness factor. Khabib has become a global star, partly to Conor's credit for making their fight and Khabib's legacy known to the world. Athletes from this region had their own superstar showing “Look, I did it and so can you”.
I think people really are missing that last point. A global superstar doesn’t just create motivated athletes, it creates facilities, dedicated trainers, and most importantly, pride.
Take some random guy from Caucasus, especially Dagestan and make him wrestle in some regional tournament in US or Europe, he would probably smash everyone there😂 The same goes with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, these guys have CRAZY boxing level.
In my highschool, the Caucasians would win against guys that wrestled 5+ years even though it’s their first year of wrestling
It's not soviet influence it's Georgian and Japanese influence. Sambo was created by mixing Judo with Chidaoba and adding kickboxing.
Based take coming back to it after 306 dawg
An interesting historical fact too is that all of these guys were kids at a time where war lords and Russian soldiers were at war and committing unspeakable crimes in that area of the world. The young boys there had to know how to defend themselves
What happened to boxing videos, you should really consider covering Bivol since you’re on the topic of soviet fighters
He switched teams infortunately and only makes videos on what is popular at the moment
@@yankoandonov7609 He hasn’t made one since Joshua shattered his heart after packing Ngannou back to MMA
If Adolf won then that means no more Soviet Union which means no more SAMBO, which means Sean O'Malley would still be champ
Dude🤣
@@wert7773 Bruhhhh
@@wert7773 Let’s go far again. If Lenin wasn’t born, O’Malley would be still champion
Oh nah Merab is TJ’s guy☠️☠️☠️
I am from Kazakhstan and I noticed that some guys from the post-Soviet space do not recognize the influence of the Soviet system on the achievements of today's athletes. This is wrong. It was the Soviet system that created the unique boxing, wrestling and sambo techniques, the fruits of which are still used today. Where are the coaches from? From the Soviet Union! I believe that if you do not like the USSR, then this is your personal opinion, but not recognizing its achievements is not competent, not objective.
These fighters would cave in your skull if you called or refered to them as "former soviet"
Yes. They all hate f*cking russia. Muslims or not.
No they wouldn't. It's an accurate and useful term which is widely used in the former soviet union too in the right context. Im born and raised here so i know
No
@@Billy_Herrington1969 Yes. They hate all the soviet and russian.
Why dont you mention Petr Yan too?
Possible to have mostly Muslim champions:
- Flyweight: Amir Albazi
- Bantamweight: Umar
- Lightweight: Islam
- Welterweight: Belal or Shavkat
- LightHeavtweight: Magomed
MiddleWeight: Imavov. HeavyWeight: Gaziev the goat
@@josieandy5874 how can I forget Shamil Gaziev!
@@MaybeFunke And nobody asked
Albazi sucks.
What about Muslims outside ex soviet countries 😂
Stalinium bones are unbreakable
Fedor the GOAT in MMA Karelin in Wrestling, Nurmagomedov GOAT in his category
Nice video pare!
Man, just ine thing, for Valentina it is Kyrgystan or Kyrgyz Republic (Kir-giz-stun)
Def not Kyoziksen
Soviet union did not really make post soviet countries good at some sports or anything.
For example Georgians have always been very physically strong. In fact most of soviet unions wins in different sports are from other post soviet countries than russia.
Even my school sport in east Germany was alot about being athletic we had so much gymnastics and athletic competitions because ofcth Soviet era twenty years later i still feel the benefits in my mma training
1:20 ah yes the former soviet country of Kersag-stan (Kyrgyzstan, judging by the flag)
Now right 👍🏻
Great video, but I think it's a bit shallow.
You made it seem like it was Sambo and Soviet Union who can take credit for raising such a good wrestlers.
If you had dug deeper, you'd discover that there is an even bigger reason why Sambo got so popular in these counties - the ground was already very fertile.
Caucasia (both north and south) and Central Asia have not centuries, but millennia of wrestling traditions. Each sub-region, country nation, had its own form of wrestling that played a huge part in local sports and traditions.
Now, with the help of UFC, these rich roots just find their way on a worldwide stage.
Damn why was the start like you’re dropping bars 🔥
I have been to a lot of different gyms with different coaches, and the best coach I ever had by far was by my Russian Mma coach with Sambo background.
I want to see Arman vs Ilia so bad
@@rawyouout If Arman beats Islam, that would be a sick fight due to Georgia and Armenia having complex relationship
Add Merab and Valentina
Not only UFC. Boxing has champions many champions from ex-USSR countries:
Oleksandr Usyk, Vasily Lomachenko, Dmitry Bivol, Artur Beterbiev, Eimantas Stanionis (WBA title), Klitchko brothers and many more... Oleksandr Khyzniak just won gold in Paris.
Bivol vs Beterbiev goat vs goat
Who cares about Khizniak with 1 gold medal of Paris Olympics.
Uzbekistan won 5 out of 7 gold medals at Paris Olympics 😂😂😂
@@Muhammed-Muhammed You probably aren’t from an ex Soviet country. Stop being pathetic and shameless trying to downplay their achievements
@@Muhammed-Muhammed Have you even completed in the Olympics?
Ultimate Fighting Commies
Bro lets be realistic, in neither middleweight or heavyweight is there any chance of one of these soviet union guys winning. Khamzats hasn't been healthy for basically 2 years and his last win was a extremely close fight against a washed Kamuru Usman and Volkov has no chance of beating Aspinall end of.
@@hm_hm_9182 Volkov beat a boogeyman in Pavlovich and its Heavyweight so anything can happen
@@EliasRoy a bogeyman who himself was his training partner and who got dropped by tom in half a round
If not Khamzat, Imavov can beat Du Plessis, it's a tailor made match-up for him, he's a better striker than Adesanya and surely a better wrestler more or less the same level as Dricus. people bashing him for the Strickland defeat don't understand MMA math.
@@Mixtapesamurai Who wasnt
If Khamzat doesn't complet his mission Shavkat will have to cover WW, MW and LHW (later on)
One thing you said is very true about them being trained in combat sambo since they were kids, their endurance and grappling is next level because of that. Second reason is that soviet Union or Russia recently was very notorious for steroid use so much so that they were banned for some time from the Olympics, all the dagies competing in the UFC are definitely on steroids, 4 out of idk how many of khabib's teammates tested positive for meladonium specifically and coincidentally all of them have heart issues which is why they take them. That being said their training style is also very different from ours in the way that in khabib's camp they never train very intensely, everything is slow and very technical they only train hard when they're approaching a fight whereas with us guys are just constantly training hard probably not recovering enough and getting injured many times or allowing the wear and tear to show early on their bodies
The Soviet Union has nothing to do with it. Even during the Soviet era, Caucasian athletes dominated sport whether it be footbal, wrestling or chess. The vast majority of famous wrestlers were Caucasians, so, it's not surprising at all that Caucasian fighters are dominating UFC.
Kkk no boxe sempre tem mexicanos e americanos nao vi Russos la 😂😂e
@@Gustavo-p8e4f In English please.
Well, I am from region, and I don't think this is accurate : most of these guys are from other background than combat sambo. Dagestanis and Arman mostly from freestyle wrestling, Topuria frome greco roman and BJJ, Dvalishvili from judo, Dolidze was goalkeeper in soccer befor starting bjj in his 20s. Some of them did some combat sambo, like Khabib or Islam earlier, or Merab lately. but it is not game changer. You can also mention that these countries have their local wrestling traditions, same quite similar to judo. But most of all, its martial arts culture and toughness.
Who wins Arman vs Ilia
@@rawyouout one who knocks people out
7:09 "it takes a soviet to kill another soviet"🗣️🗣️🔥🔥 ahh moment
Merab champ 🏆🇬🇪
We have too much anger to Russia and not sure about North Caucasians, but both Merab and Ilia have shown their condemnation of Russia's policies towards Georgia; Ilia's family became a refugee because of Russia's war against Georgia in 90s.
Besides, Judo is big in Georgia and if you check the world ranking by nationality, Georgia is fourth after Japan, France and a group of individuals without nationalities, which is a very good ranking considering the number of the population.
That title is crazy!
Great video
Merab and Shevchenko ✅
Khamzat is the weak link? Crazy
Most of them weren't even born during USSR, and USSR had nothing to do with MMA. This is a reach
Not really
You forgot about Shamil Gaziev.
Our countries close to fighting. We appreciate tough people. This the reason, not the sambo or wrestling etc. We just have mindset to be strong for any situations. We have good strikers too, for example GGG, Bivol, Beterbiev, Klitchko.. So many else... Even we're good on full strike like kickboxing, muai thai. Us fans seeing only small part of what we can do. Mma just become popular 15 years ago, you'll see many talented people from our countries. This is only beginning
It's crazy to see that Movsar is ranked below both of the guys he defeated.
it's EPO
and meldonium
Fighters who were caught doin 💉💉 were only from USA or Brazil...
Cope
For Merab probably
@@lionelmessisburner7393 😂😂😂
True analogy
I was born and raised in Kazakhstan.
Sambo was Jiujitsu copycat, and never had large following as wrestling or boxing.
It’s all about warrior culture of Caucasus region and Central Asia.
Note. Not many ethnic Russians are in the UFC.
Illia moved almost immediately to germany first and then too spain and has been training from their ever since so imo you cant really count him
I'll tell you what, his fighting spirit did not come from these countries, it came from Georgia!
Ilia moved to spain with 15 years. Grom 6 to 15 he was living in georgia
He still represents georgia offizialy and has georgian fighting spirit. Who are you to count him or not to
Mentioning JJ but not DC for wrestling is criminal since only one of them is an Olympic wrestler
notice how all the names he mentioned were active fighters on the roster, DC has been retired for years bro
You are missing a big portion of why ex-Soviet Republics dominate or can dominate mma. First off, Dana White will not allow a full Soviet takeover, he is all about the benjamins and needs to spread the "love" and have marketable fighters in the ring, which isn't always the case with ex-Soviet fighters.
Since I was born in Soviet Union and in Caucases, I can tell you that male kids are enrolled in combat sports in high numbers. Men naturally are tougher, more masculine culturally, the alpha mentality for a man, being able to defend himself is also a natural part of a man's psyche there. Men are more aggressive, and often are more hot-headed and resolve conflicts with their hands from early age. It is just part of life there. Combat schools are everywhere, and there is a large variety of them.
Also true for boxing and other combat sports
GGG, Beterbiev, Bivol, Usyk, Lomachenko etc..
Babe wake up it’s TJlovesFridays
Kuwait's Future in MMA Mohammed Alaqraa in 4:44, watch out this guy is coming!!
In fact, it is not the Soviet regime that plays a big role, but the culture and mentality of these regions. All good fighters are from the Caucasus and Central Asia. If everything depended on the legacy of the USSR, there would be many champions from countries such as Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus and so on. Even in the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet, fighters from the Caucasus and Central Asia are considered favorites in local competitions.
not soviet union. its caucasus region made best fighters. The Caucasus is inhabited by people whose ancestors throughout history have been in constant struggle with each other and with external conquering empires. Our culture forgives a man everything except fear and timidity to not respond even to an opponent much stronger than him.
If this was the merit of the Soviet Union, then the Russians should dominate in this sport, since this is the most numerous nation in the Soviet Union.
You are correct it's predominantly Caucasus...
But still, that is what kind of unites them all historically
Caucasus and Central Asia: UFC Takeover by Former USSR Powerhouses 🥇💪
The Caucasus and Central Asia, formerly part of the USSR, are taking over the UFC scene, producing elite fighters and champions across divisions.
🇦🇲 Armenia (2.8 million): Arman Tsarukyan - Lightweight contender known for grappling and striking.
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan (10.1 million):
🇬🇪 Georgia (3.7 million): Ilia Topuria - Undefeated featherweight with powerful striking; Merab Dvalishvili - Bantamweight contender with relentless wrestling.
🇷🇺 Dagestan, Russia (3.1 million): Islam Makhachev - UFC Lightweight Champion, representing elite Dagestani wrestling; Khamzat Chimaev (Chechnya) - Welterweight and middleweight powerhouse known for rapid finishes; Umar Nurmagomedov - Bantamweight contender with strong striking and wrestling; Magomed Ankalaev - Light heavyweight contender blending striking and grappling.
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan (19 million): Shavkat Rakhmonov - Undefeated welterweight with a versatile style.
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan (6.5 million): Valentina Shevchenko - Former Flyweight Champion, known for elite striking.
These former USSR regions are not just competing; they are dominating and reshaping the landscape of the UFC. 🌍🥋🔥
It's not about Soviet Union per se, it's more that men from that region, specifically Caucasus mountains, are natural born fighters. It's in their DNA. Just about every boy has to know how to fight growing up - either sambo, or boxing, or wrestling - some kind of fighting sport. The percentage of fighters per capita is probably the highest in the world in Chechnya/Dagestan region, that's why you see all these great champions coming from such a small region.
Sambo was created on the basis of Georgian traditional wrestling - Chidaoba.
And hundred other things
Sambo was created from mix of catch wrestling and judo
i mean you might be right about some stuff but georgia was a warrior cuture way before 99 % of the modern countries existed soviet union didnthelp georgia in that trust me.
Same in boxing, Bivol,Usyk,Beterbiev
Imagine a fighter with sambo like Islam and Kick boxing Alex....no one would stand a chance.
5:08 why’d you count islam as an 1 of the 6 undeafted fighters?? he literally has a KO loss in the UFC bro. you forgot Shavkat so it’s still 6 tho
Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬 has a lot of great fighters Orolbai is not the best male fighter from Kyrgyzstan, we've got a lot of undefeated fighters in Rizin, One Fc, ACA, Brave FC, LFA etc. If they make it to the UFC, UFC is doomed
ACA?
Bro predicted everything 😂
its not about soviet's influence, actually soviet does't have something related to that caucasus already had such fighters (i meant genetically strong not in specified sport) long before soviet :)
This is funny how the USSR doesn't exist anymore but still does exists.😁
Who’s here after sean lost 😭
All of these fighters are a result of the chaos of the post Soviet era. Since when the Soviet Union fell it brought with it a lot of poverty, civil wars, and chaos. So many parents had to teach their young children how to defend themselves just to survive.
No it realy isnt. This fighters are the result of thousands of years of war culture. Georgia has had so many wars repighout theier huge history. So did all kaukasus. And kirgyistan and kazakhstan are nomadic tribed which are also warrior countrys.
Nlthing zo do with soviet union. Soviet union was just a mere glimpse in theier history.
Да хватит сочинять сказки. Я сам с Кавказа, но многие кавказцы прям сказочники.
Прям такие могучие воины, что почему-то Россия всех победила и подчинила.
Bivol 🇰🇬 and usyk 🇺🇦 also two of the best boxer of this generation
💯
Valentina Shevchenko from Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬❤️❤️❤️ Asu Almabayev from Kazakhstan 🇰🇿❤❤❤
There is the possibility this happens but its unlikely that all these guys will be champ plus half of them dont even train in their countries some of them dont even represent them. And belal isn't from that region
Well yeah but they all started out there
@aalytoks9755 nah not all of them. I mean khamzat trained mma in Sweden his whole career now in the uae. Same with toporio he trained in Spain and hes not even representing or pushing for ufc Georgia. My point is half of them dont train there or never have so how can we attribute the success to that region when all of them move to other countries as pros their whole career. Like we couldn't say Nigeria had the best fighters either because usman and izzy trained in the US or new Zealand their whole career
@@Jebronjarden Still impressive regardless of whatever nationalities they choose
@@Jebronjarden
Topuria does PR for Georgia doe, coming out with the flag same with Merab.
@rainbowstalin594 he did his victory tour through Spain and walked out to Spanish music, spoke Spanish at the press conferences, again he's pushing for ufc spain and lives and trains there. Not saying he's not Georgian buy I'm saying you can't put his success under that flag because non of his career took place in his home country
I was watching this vid before the UFC #309 #NocheUFC and i was like ehh maybe this guy is onto something if Merab and Valentina win and what do u know they did lol. So yea i guess ur right dude the Soviet Union fighters might take over!
I think this is part of the reason ankalaev didn’t get a title shot, and suga is talking like he wants to duck umar and move up to 145 after only 2 defenses
Now he can move up to 145. Without a title 😂😂