Oleg Taktarov Returns to the Ring Tonight

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

MMA legend — the first Russian fighter to make a major impact in the US, UFC VI champion, submission king, rival of Ken Shamrock, Tank Abbott, Marco Ruas, Dan Severn — Oleg Taktarov returns to the ring tonight in Bodog Fight’s Russia vs America card.

Here’s hoping it goes better than his ill-fated match with Gary Goodridge. The fight that should have ended his career.

Here’s a Russian newspaper’s take on it — interesting to note that in Russia he’s mostly known for his work as a Hollywood actor.

Update [2007-12-1 10:34:11 by Kid Nate]: I’m happy Sherdog is reporting that Oleg won his fight by kneebar in the 2nd round. War Oleg!

The second round started with yet another clinch, which pushed Marsh into a corner. Taktarov then promptly dropped down for a textbook kneebar that caused Marsh to tap instantly, ending the fight and heralding Taktarov’s initial comeback as a success.

It would be awesome if someone put together a HL reel of Oleg’s best moments — he was too great a contributor to early MMA to be remembered just for getting KTFO’d. His flash submissions were always beautiful and I’m excited he’s still got the touch.

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About the author

Nate Wilcox

Nate Wilcox is the founding editor of BloodyElbow.com. As such he has hired every editor and writer to work for the site. Wilcox’s writing for BE is known for its emphasis on MMA history, the evolution of fighting techniques and strong opinions. Wilcox developed the SBN MMA consensus rankings which were featured in USA Today from 2009 to 2011. Before founding BE, Wilcox was a political operative working for such figures as Senators John Kerry and Mark Warner and an early political blogger. He is the co-author of Netroots Rising, a history of the political blogosphere from 2003 to 2007. Wilcox also hosts the Let It Roll podcast on music history for the Pantheon Podcast Network.