At the PFL World Championships this past November, there were six divisional titles on the line – Russian athletes won four of those finales, each taking home a $1 million prize.
From the PFL to the UFC, Russian athletes appear to be dominating this current era of MMA across the board – Bloody Elbow spoke to the legendary ‘Outlaw’ to find out why.
Dan Hardy explains why Russian fighters are dominating MMA
Across the five major MMA promotions worldwide (UFC, PFL, Bellator, ONE, and RIZIN), Russian athletes do indeed make up the majority of men’s divisional champions:
- Russia – Nine champions
- America – Seven champions
- Brazil – Five champions
- Japan – Three champions
Considering that it was once a rarity to see anyone other than an American or Brazilian holding MMA championship gold, it’s hard to argue that Russian fighters aren’t enjoying this current era of cage fighting – but why?
In an exclusive conversation with Bloody Elbow, MMA legend Dan Hardy explained why he believes Russian athletes are finding more success than anyone else.
“MMA goes in waves, and I think when you’ve been watching it for a long time, you see the cycles come and go.
“First of all, it’s the Jiu-Jitsu players that are winning the fights because no one knows Jiu-Jitsu. Then the wrestlers learn a bit of submission defense and then they can take them down and beat them up. Then you’ve got the strikers with the takedown defense.”
“The current cycle right now, which is really nice, and it’s been exposed by a lot of the Russian fighters is that most people don’t see MMA as one system.”
Hardy referenced this recent crop of Russian champions in the PFL as an example, explaining how Russian MMA dominance comes from, rather poignantly, the mixing of martial arts disciplines.
“You’re talking about guys like Gadzhi Rabadanov or Timur Khizriev, Denis Goltsov – to win by triangle off of your back as a heavyweight is almost unheard of since the days of Stefan Struve and Frank Mir.
“What these guys are showing is just a real well-roundedness. I mean, we always talk of Goltsov’s jab, we always talk of Timur’s wrestling but it’s the opposite sides of the game that got their fights won – the grappling of Goltsov and the striking of Khizriev.”
Whilst Russian athletes are dominating this modern era of MMA, the vast majority are not training inside the country; as Hardy noted, they’re exporting their skills around the world.
“They showed a comprehensive game, and I think what they’re doing is they’re influencing the rest of MMA to catch up with us; we’re leading the way right now because our games are seamless. And that’s going to challenge all of the other gyms around the world to bring that level.
“The other thing I will say is that a lot of those guys are exporting that style of fighting. You talk to Brendan Loughnane, and he’s spent time training with those Russian guys in Thailand, they’re in AKA in the US, and American Top Team.”
Given how more and more fighters are now training alongside Russians on the matts, rather than only facing them in the cage, Hardy expects there to be another cycle in the coming years.
“The style that is dominating all of MMA right now is starting to get into all the gyms and it’s going to make for a very interesting few years [in the sport].”