Wrestling in Dagestan
Wrestling in Dagestan / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wrestling is one of the most popular sports in the Russian republic of Dagestan. Despite its relatively small population of approximately 3.1 million, the Republic of Dagestan has historically produced a disproportionate number of Olympic and world champions in freestyle wrestling. The first wrestler from Dagestan to win a world title was five-time freestyle wrestling world champion, Ali Aliyev.[1][2][3] The republic has also produced a number of world champions in sambo, the third international style of wrestling to be recognized by UWW.[4]
In recent years, mixed martial arts (MMA) has become popular in Dagestan due to wrestling being an important component of it. The first UFC champion from Dagestan was Khabib Nurmagomedov, who greatly utilized wrestling to become UFC Lightweight Champion and retired undefeated.[3][5] Current UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev also trained with Khabib under his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.[6] MMA fighter Karimula Barkalaev, so-far the only Russian to have won gold at the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championships, was also raised in Dagestan.