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| Typical Dagestani attire |
Fighters come from all over the world, and if they end up being moderately non-terrible, they will probably end up fighting for a major American-based promotion. In recent years, fighters from the Russian republic of Dagestan have emerged as top fighters, generally with a strong sambo background. So now I'm going to run through some top-level Dagestani fighters, going from smallest to largest, even though that means I'll end up talking about the most notable guys right in the middle of this post.
UFC Flyweight - Ali "Puncher King" Bagautinov
Ali Bagautinov had a pretty good UFC debut, showcasing his nickname of "Puncher King" with a third round knockout, and followed that up with another impressive performance against Daniel Bryan/Mose Schrute-hybrid lookalike, Tim Elliott. He is unbeaten in three years and ten fights, with five TKO and two submission victories during that span.
Bellator Featherweight - Magomedrasul "Frodo" Khasbulaev
The Hobbit-named fighter has been putting on impressive performances in Bellator, showcasing the kind of grit and scrappiness only found in a halfling tasked with transporting the One Ring to Mount Doom (Facing Daniel Straus for the Featherweight title), as he's undefeated in the past three years and nine fights.
Check out more rad Dagestanis after the jump!
