Which of the Russians became the UFC champion

Russian fighter Movsar Evloev will fight UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski on October 24 at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi.

In case of victory, Evloev could become the sixth Russian in history to win the champion belt of the organization. The number of UFC champions is controversial.

Officially, the belt was owned by four, but many experts count five holders of the title. The reason for the discussion is to change the format of tournaments. Prior to the UFC 12 fights took place under the Olympic system, where the winner was determined in one evening. The concept of the championship belt in its usual form appeared in the organization only in 2003.

In addition, during the first UFC tournaments in the United States there were no weight categories. First came the heavy and lightweight divisions. Weight classes were introduced in 1997, and the UFC only set the final division limits in 2001.

Which of the Russians became the UFC champion

Oleg Taktarov (UFC 6)

Oleg Taktarov made his debut in the organization in April 1995 at the UFC 5 tournament. In the first fight he won a suffocating reception, and the second match against Dan Severn was stopped due to the dissection of Taktarov – he was counted defeat, although, according to the Russian, he was ready to continue the fight.

In July 1995, Taktarov fought at UFC 6. In the semi-finals, he fought one of the fastest fights in the history of the organization, forcing the opponent to surrender in the ninth second after a suffocating reception of "guillotine.".

The final match of the tournament was the fight of the Russian against David Abbott, which ended with Taktarov’s victory with a stifling reception. So Taktarov became the first Russian fighter to hold the UFC championship title, despite the absence of a permanent belt of the organization.

At UFC 7 in September 1995, Taktarov fought for the title against Ken Shamrock. The athletes could not identify the winner, and after three added minutes, the meeting ended in a draw.

In December 1995, Taktarov participated in the tournament The Ultimate Ultimate, which was attended by the best fighters of the year in the UFC. In the final, he again met with Severn, but conceded by unanimous decision of the judges. After that, the Russian left the UFC.

Taktarov has repeatedly spoken harshly about the depreciation of his title. In 2020, when asked about the first UFC champion from Russia, he said that “history cannot be rewritten.”.

“I can tell you a story. There were three champions. I won the sixth championship. Where do you see anyone else? It's 1995. It's a story - how to rewrite it, how to remake it? If one Wahhabi is from the Tsumadin district (Nurmagomedov's home district). RBC: Why do all the fools have to repeat this? He does not repeat it himself, and you repeat everything like monkeys behind him, Taktarov said live on Instagram (part of the Meta Corporation, recognized as extremist and banned in Russia).

Khabib Nurmagomedov (2018–2020)

Khabib Nurmagomedov made his UFC debut in January 2012, fighting Iranian Kamal Shalorus and winning his first promotion. Later, his rivals in the UFC were Brazilians Glaison Tibao, Tiago Tavaris, Rafael dos Agnoz, Edson Barbosa, Americans Abel Trujillo, Pat Healy, Darrell Horcher, Michael Johnson.

In April 2018, Khabib Nurmagomedov became the UFC lightweight champion, defeating American Al Yaquinta. In the future, he defended the title three times: defeating the Irishman Conor McGregor in October 2018, defeating the American Dustin Porie in September 2019, and in October 2020 – the American Justin Gatgie.

In March 2018, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the father and coach of Khabib, said that the current UFC can not be compared with the fights in the days of Taktarov.

“Taktarov fought in the tournament. There has never been such a championship before. I pay tribute to what Taktarov did. There is no champion in Russia yet. To compare what was then and today is a difference of one to ten, Nurmagomedov told Match TV.

At the same time, Khabib Nurmagomedov has never said that Taktarov is not the first UFC champion from Russia.

After the fight with Justin Gatji on October 24, 2020, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement. When I made the fight with Gatgie, I talked to my mother for three days. She didn't want me to fight without my father. This is my last fight, he said. Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov died three and a half months before the fight. In total, Nurmagomedov fought 29 MMA fights (13 of them in the UFC) without suffering a single defeat.

The official UFC Russia account in 2020 on its Instagram page (part of the Meta Corporation, recognized as extremist and banned in Russia) reported that Taktarov in 1995 “won the UFC 6 tournament and won the Grand Prix winner belt”, and Nurmagomedov in 2018 won the lightweight belt and became “the long-awaited champion from Russia”.

Peter Yan (2020–2021, 2025–present)

Petr Yang has been playing at the UFC since June 2018. In July 2020, he defeated Brazilian Jose Aldo and became the lightweight champion. However, in March 2021, in a duel with Aljamaine Sterling, he lost the title due to a disqualification for a prohibited reception.

In October 2021, Ian defeated Corey Sandhagen in the fight for the temporary lightweight title, but in April 2022 he again lost to Sterling by a separate decision of the judges in the fight for the belt of the champion.

Immediately after that, in October 2022, he also lost to Sean O'Malley by a separate decision, and in March 2023 he lost to Georgian Merab Dvalishvili by a unanimous decision of the judges.

In the last three fights, the Russian won by unanimous decision of the judges of the Chinese Song Yadong, Brazilian Davison Figueired and American Marcus McGee.

In December 2025, Jan held the first championship fight since 2022, inflicting the first defeat since 2018. The Russian won by unanimous decision of the judges.

Islam Makhachev (2022 – present)

Islam Makhachev made his UFC debut in 2015, winning the stifling reception of American Leo Kunz, but in the second match in the organization, the Russian lost by knockout to Adrian Martins. After that, he fought ten battles, which ended in victories.

In October 2022, Makhachev defeated Brazilian Charles Oliveira and became the lightweight champion. The Russian held four title defenses: he defeated Australian Alexander Volkanowski (twice), American Dustin Porie and Brazilian Renato Moikano. In addition, he won five title fights and broke the UFC record in the light division on this indicator.

After that, he decided to leave the belt in the lightweight and climb to the welterweight division.

On November 16, 2025, Makhachev met with Australian Jack Della Maddalena in a fight for the UFC welterweight title. The Russian won in the 16th fight in a row and repeated the record of former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva for the duration of the winning streak in promotion.

Before the fight for the second title, Makhachev was second in the UFC ranking, regardless of weight categories (P4P). In total, 34-year-old Makhachev has 28 victories in MMA with one defeat.

Magomed Ankalaev (2025)

Magomed Ankalaev first played in the UFC in 2018, but then he conceded due to a stifling reception to Scotsman Paul Craig. After the defeat in the debut match in the organization, the Russian won nine times.

In December 2022, Ankalaev played in a title match with Pole Jan Blakhovich, which ended in a draw. The Russian was dissatisfied with the decision and noted that he could not "win against the judges." “It doesn’t matter whether I was hurt or not, but I did everything to win. Whether I will speak here or not, I do not know either, Ankalaev said. After the battle, the Pole even called for the belt to be given to Ankalaev.

In 2024, he defeated Brazilian Johnny Walker and Serb Alexander Rakich, becoming a contender for the title match.

On March 9, 2025, Ankalaev defeated Brazilian Alex Pereira in the main match of the UFC 313 tournament, becoming the champion. Ankalaev is the first Russian who became the champion of the organization in the light heavyweight division.

However, on October 5 last year, the Russian lost the UFC championship title, losing in the fight-rematch to Pereira by a technical knockout in the first round. In total, the 33-year-old Russian has 21 wins, two defeats and one draw in MMA.