Karimula Barkalaev | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Karimula Magomedovich Barkalaev 23 January 1973 [1] [2] [3] [4] Tivi, Qvareli, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union [1] [2] [3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Native name | Каримула Магомедович Баркалаев [1] [2] [3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other names | Kareem Barkalaev | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 90.72 kg (200 lb; 14 st 4 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Division |
Light Heavyweight Heavyweight | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fighting out of | Russia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | Russian Top Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Trainer | Volk Han | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | International Master of Sports in Sanda [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years active | 1997–2001 [2] [3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mixed martial arts record | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wins | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By knockout | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By submission | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By decision | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By disqualification | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unknown | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Losses | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By decision | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Karimula Magomedovich Barkalaev (born 23 January 1973) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist (MMA) and sanda practitioner. He is the first and only Russian national to have won the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship. [2] According to Sport Express, on American forums, he was called the "most mysterious fighter in the history of MMA". [2] On the MMA ranking system portal Fight Matrix, Barkalaev reached a peak ranking of No. 3 Light Heavyweight in 1999. [5]
Barkalaev was born on 23 January 1973, in the village of Tivi, Qvareli, Georgian SSR. [1] [2] [3] [4] He is of Avar descent. [2] [3]
After sixth grade, he moved to Kaspiysk, Dagestan where he attended a sports boarding school for Judo and graduated in 1990. [1] [2] [3] He trained with his cousin, Dzhabrail Barkalaev who later became a silver medalist at the 1996 Russian Judo Championship. [2] [3] [6]
In 1993, Barkalaev started training in sanda. [2] [3] He was winner of the 1995 and 1996 Russian Wushu Championships. [2] [3] [7] He was also a silver medalist in the 1996 European Wushu Championship in Rome. [2] [7]
In 1997, Barkalaev met Volk Han and would train under him to participate in mixed martial arts. [2] [3]
Barkalaev spent his early career fighting under the International Absolute Fighting Council (IAFC) promotion in Russia.
On 23 May 1998, he fought against Gilbert Yvel. [2] [3] [8] Yvel was disqualified after Barkalaev's coach Volk Han noted the referee Yvel had illegally bitten his fighter [2] [3] [8]
On 8 February 2001, Barkalaev competed in the Shidokan Jitsu – Warriors 1 Tournament in Kuwait. [2] [3] [7] [9] He faced Dave Menne in the finals and lost by unanimous decision after referee, John McCarthy deducted a point for grabbing the cage. [2] [3] [7] [9] After the fight, he complained how the event was unfair since the referee, as well as all three judges were from the U.S. [2] [3] [7] [9]
Since that tournament, Barkalaev has not participated in any MMA bouts. [2] [3] He has stated there was a lack of financial incentive and interest in continuing. [3]
In 1998, Barkalaev competed in the inaugural tournament of the ADCC World Championship. [3] [10] [11] He defeated Carlos Lopez, Toby Imada and Igor Yakimov to reach the finals of the −88 kg division. [10] In the finals he lost to Rodrigo Gracie on points after a 30-minute bout. [3] [10] [11]
In 1999, Barkalaev returned to compete in the 1999 ADCC World Championship. [2] [3] [11] [12] He defeated Renato Verissimo, Amaury Bitetti and Egan Inoue all by points. [12] In the finals he faced Belarusian wrestler, Aleksandr Savko where he won on points and became champion of the −88 kg division. [2] [3] [11] [12]
In 2000, Barkalaev moved up in weight class to compete in the −99 kg division of the 2000 ADCC World Championship. [2] [11] [13] He defeated Nino Schembri and faced Ricardo Arona in the semi-finals. [2] [3] [7] [11] [13] The match between the two eventually became a brawl and Arona won due to points. [2] [3] [7] [11] [13] At the time, Barkalaev was an instructor in Abu Dhabi and a representative of a local Sheikh. [2] [3] [7] [11] His action offended the Sheikh who asked for Barkalaev's arrest. [2] [3] [11] After the match, Barkalaev was escorted off the mat and spent a week in prison. [2] [3] [7] [11] He was eventually released by the Sheikh and has stated he wanted to have a rematch with Arona under MMA rules. [2] [3] [7] Barkalaev has not returned to the UAE since. [2]
As of 2023, Barkalaev works as a director for Dagpotrebsoyuz which is the Consumers' Union of Dagestan. [2] [4]
He teaches his skills to young people and can be found at the Ali Aliyev Sport Complex which he was previously in charge of for five years. [2]
Barkalaev graduated from business school in 2003. [4] He was nominated by the Russian All-People's Union to stand in for the People's Assembly of the Republic of Dagestan although he dropped out after registration. [4]
12 matches | 11 wins | 1 loss |
By knockout | 5 | 0 |
By submission | 1 | 0 |
By decision | 1 | 1 |
By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
Unknown | 3 | 0 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 11–1 | Dave Menne | Decision (unanimous) | Shidokan Jitsu: Warrior's War | 8 February 2001 | 1 | 10:00 | Kuwait City, Kuwait | |
Win | 11–0 | Jose Landi-Jons | TKO (punches) | 1 | 5:59 | ||||
Win | 10–0 | Dersu Lerma | Decision (unanimous) | 1 | 10:00 | Middleweight debut. | |||
Win | 9–0 | Martin Malkhasyan | TKO (strikes) | IAFC: Brilliant Cup 1999 | 16 December 1999 | 1 | N/A | Kyiv, Ukraine | |
Win | 8–0 | Roman Savochka | KO | 1 | N/A | ||||
Win | 7–0 | Oleg Chemodurov | TKO (strikes) | 1 | N/A | ||||
Win | 6–0 | Sergei Akinin | TKO (submission to Punches) | IAFC: Russian Championship 1999 (Day 2) | 30 April 1999 | 1 | 1:04 | Moscow, Russia | |
Win | 5–0 | Gilbert Yvel | DQ (biting) | IAFC: European Championship 1998 | 23 May 1998 | 1 | 4:49 | Moscow, Russia | |
Win | 4–0 | Valery Pliev | N/A | IAFC: Russian Championship 1997 | 21 December 1997 | 1 | N/A | Moscow, Russia | |
Win | 3–0 | Valery Nikulin | N/A | 1 | N/A | ||||
Win | 2–0 | Igor Gerus | N/A | 1 | N/A | ||||
Win | 1–0 | Joe Charles | Submission (forearm choke) | IAFC: Absolute Fighting Championship 2: Day 1 | 30 April 1997 | 1 | 9:19 | Moscow, Russia | Heavyweight debut. |
10 Matches, 8 Wins (2 Submission), 2 Losses | |||||||
Result | Rec. | Opponent | Method | Event | Division | Date | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lose | 8–2 | Ricardo Arona | Points | ADCC 2000 | –99 kg | 2000 | Abu Dhabi |
Win | 8–1 | Nino Schembri | Points | ||||
Win | 7–1 | Aleksandr Savko | Points | ADCC 1999 | –88 kg | 1999 | Abu Dhabi |
Win | 6–1 | Egan Inoue | Points | ||||
Win | 5–1 | Amaury Bitetti | Points | ||||
Win | 4–1 | Renato Verissimo | Points | ||||
Lose | 3–1 | Rodrigo Gracie | Points | ADCC 1998 | –88 kg | 1998 | Abu Dhabi |
Win | 3–0 | Igor Yakimov | Submission | ||||
Win | 2–0 | Toby Imada | Submission | ||||
Win | 1–0 | Carlos Lopez | Points |