Dagestani Striking

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

I think for most people, when they hear or see "Dagestan", they think wrestling. And rightfully so, as Dagestan has produced some of the best freestyle wrestlers and MMA wrestlers of all-time. And definitely the highest concentration of all-time-great wrestlers, considering what a tiny area it is.

But I feel like more attention should be paid to Dagestani striking.
There are a lot of guys from Dagestan with above-average-to-elite striking.
Between Islam and Khabib, they out-struck Edson Barboza, Conor McGregor, Charles Oliveira and Alexander Volkanovski, all of whom are considered to be among the best strikers ever. (Sure, Khabib's striking was ugly as fuck, but it was very effective (largely because of the pressure he used and because of the constant threat of the takedown)).
But guys like Umar Nurmagomedov, Zabit Magomedsharipov, Muslim Salikhov, Magomed Ankalaev, Shara Bullet, etc. all have very good striking. Much better than the average UFC/Bellator fighter.
Usman Nurmagomedov has some of the best striking I've ever seen. His speed, timing, flexibility and insticts are unreal.

Is it time to change the narrative about what Dagestanis only being wrestlers?

TL;DR

I made a thread a while back about the Dagestani Wrestler Kicker.
I think it’s because wushu sanda is popular in Caucasus and the Stans.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

not MMA but check out Artur Beterbiev

P4P hardest hitter in the world.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

I've always knew that...however, I'm not a usual sherbro, since I know what Dagestan is actually like. The fighting culture there is like nowhere else in the world, there is a combat school of some sort on every corner, and every male kid is enrolled or fighting on the streets.

You visited Dagestan?

 

[jsbx45]

idk about the standup, but the Interlocking Fish Smash potential is through the the goddamn roof with these guys

Is that a Dagjitsu move? Legal under unified rules?

 

[Bruce Lee666]

No.

When you say "sambo", you're talking about combat sambo.

Combat sambo is like MMA, but even fewer rules (soccer kicks, headbutts, low blows, etc, all legal).

It's not a style of its own, per se (although combinations that are unique to combat sambo have developed over the years).

It's a ruleset in which different styles compete, as is MMA.

Khabib & company were wrestling specialists (with a lot of judo influence) who competed in dozens of combat sambo matches. They were not good strikers, hence why they went to AKA to improve.

Fedor, despite also being a combat sambo fighter, had a completely different style than the above mentioned because his base was different.

The styles go on and on, differing a lot.

What is helpful about combat sambo in MMA is not that it's a style of its own that they all train from childhood... It's that it's a ruleset that gives them a lot of experience in MMA type contests before they ever step foot in MMA itself.

Fedor Prime have god tier Wrestling and Very Good Judo he Takedown or Submit Guys Stronger and Bigger, What's the Difference with Daguestan Sambo ? The only difference I see it's Fedor prefer standing and doesn't like doing the Boring decision game but Fedor can do this if he want in his Prime.

Fedor can fuck people whatever he want in his Prime in Striking or Grappling he it's a master.

 

[theincognito]

Fedor Prime have god tier Wrestling and Very Good Judo he Takedown or Submit Guys Stronger and Bigger, What's the Difference with Daguestan Sambo ? The only difference I see it's Fedor prefer standing and doesn't like doing the Boring decision game but Fedor can do this if he want in his Prime.

Fedor can fuck people whatever he want in his Prime in Striking or Grappling he it's a master.

Fedor's base was judo and normal sambo (grappling).

(I'm only speculating here but) Fedor was also in the military and in the Russian military, they teach combat sambo as an actual system - not for sport but for self defense. That's how it originated.

I'm guessing that's where Fedor picked up a lot of his style. You can see that he looked to incapacitate his opponents as quickly as possible. No feeling out, no looking to score points. To me that suggests that he was a lot more self defense minded than sporting minded, which would start to explain his unique style compared to other combat sambo fighters.

In the end, it's all about the coaching. Khabib's dad was a wrestler so that's what his fighters became best at. From other parts of Dagestan with different teachers, guys like Zabit and Ankalaev became primarily strikers.

They're all combat sambo fighters, just different in style.

 

[don't ask]

If they have a fabulous black beard and their last name ends in the letter V, I’m betting heavy on them to win. IDGAF.

I used to say I'd never bet against anyone who's had "magomedov" in their names... then Magomed Magomedov cost me money three times.

 

[don't ask]

Fedor Prime have god tier Wrestling and Very Good Judo he Takedown or Submit Guys Stronger and Bigger, What's the Difference with Daguestan Sambo ? The only difference I see it's Fedor prefer standing and doesn't like doing the Boring decision game but Fedor can do this if he want in his Prime.

Fedor can fuck people whatever he want in his Prime in Striking or Grappling he it's a master.

Fedor spent his entire childhood / teens training Judo and was very highly ranked nationally, barely missing the Olympic team. The Dagestanis have an entirely different background that they're bringing into their Combat Sambo matches.

 

[HHJ]

You can see that he looked to incapacitate his opponents as quickly as possible. .

God he was so much FUN.

 

[HHJ]

Fedor Prime have god tier Wrestling and Very Good Judo he Takedown or Submit Guys Stronger and Bigger, What's the Difference with Daguestan Sambo ? The only difference I see it's Fedor prefer standing and doesn't like doing the Boring decision game but Fedor can do this if he want in his Prime.

Fedor can fuck people whatever he want in his Prime in Striking or Grappling he it's a master.

There is definitley a difference. Fedor would seldom shoot for the legs the way the Dagi's do,mostly achieving his takedowns either from the clinch or a mistake his opponents made. He of course had legendary power with his GNP,so he based his style off that,once it did hit the ground. Also because he was smaller and faster than alot of the opponents,and with better cardio,its a much different game he was using. HW's and LW's just arent gonna fight the same,they have diff attributes and different things to worry about.

they are all come forward all the time aggressive,but Fedor's speed and power would absolutley overwhelm guys early. Fedor has alot of quick first round finishes.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

There is definitley a difference. Fedor would seldom shoot for the legs the way the Dagi's do,mostly achieving his takedowns either from the clinch or a mistake his opponents made. He of course had legendary power with his GNP,so he based his style off that,once it did hit the ground. Also because he was smaller and faster than alot of the opponents,and with better cardio,its a much different game he was using. HW's and LW's just arent gonna fight the same,they have diff attributes and different things to worry about.

they are all come forward all the time aggressive,but Fedor's speed and power would absolutley overwhelm guys early. Fedor has alot of quick first round finishes.

I think that Fedor has more judo in his sambo than the typical Dagestani. Dagestan is the mecca of freestyle wrestling, not judo, which is why the Dagestanis wrestle more, even if they indeed have some judo influence in their game.

 

[ChimRichalds]

I think for most people, when they hear or see "Dagestan", they think wrestling. And rightfully so, as Dagestan has produced some of the best freestyle wrestlers and MMA wrestlers of all-time. And definitely the highest concentration of all-time-great wrestlers, considering what a tiny area it is.

But I feel like more attention should be paid to Dagestani striking.
There are a lot of guys from Dagestan with above-average-to-elite striking.
Between Islam and Khabib, they out-struck Edson Barboza, Conor McGregor, Charles Oliveira and Alexander Volkanovski, all of whom are considered to be among the best strikers ever. (Sure, Khabib's striking was ugly as fuck, but it was very effective (largely because of the pressure he used and because of the constant threat of the takedown)).
But guys like Umar Nurmagomedov, Zabit Magomedsharipov, Muslim Salikhov, Magomed Ankalaev, Shara Bullet, etc. all have very good striking. Much better than the average UFC/Bellator fighter.
Usman Nurmagomedov has some of the best striking I've ever seen. His speed, timing, flexibility and insticts are unreal.

Is it time to change the narrative about what Dagestanis only being wrestlers?

TL;DR

100% agree. People talk about Khabib and Islam like they're the typical fighter from that region, and while they're definitely the most successful, it's just not the case.

 

[Brigfa2]

Artur Beterbiev is elite.

There's another Russian, a Kazakhstani, named Gennady Golovkin, who not only is an elite fighter — but he has a top-tier elite chin as well.

He is kazakh, dagestanis are not ethnically Russian but you can call them Russian because Putin owns Dagestan but Kazakhstan is not even part of the Russia

 

[HHJ]

He is kazakh, dagestanis are not ethnically Russian but you can call them Russian because Putin owns Dagestan but Kazakhstan is not even part of the Russia

His Wikipedia states he is of Chechen descent,but born in Dagestan

 

[Brigfa2]

Just because Khabib and Islam is wrestlers people think all of them are wrestler but at the same time just because Khabib and Islam is great, people think all of them are.
Everyone in the Dagestan trains MMA that's why they have so many fighters so it's not about them being special. If some west african country had the same amount of people training for MMA as Dagestan, now that would be a scary domination

 

[HHJ]

Just because Khabib and Islam is wrestlers people think all of them are wrestler but at the same time just because Khabib and Islam is great, people think all of them are.
Everyone in the Dagestan trains MMA that's why they have so many fighters so it's not about them being special. If some west african country had the same amount of people training for MMA as Dagestan, now that would be a scary domination

Well sure they havent all won titles yet,but Ankalaev,the Nurmagomedovs,Islam,Zabit when he was around...it isnt just gonna stop with them. But sure some of them have vastly different styles,esp in the standup.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

His Wikipedia states he is of Chechen descent,but born in Dagestan

I think he means Golovkhin. Betrbiev is indeed Chechen born in Dagestan, but now more importantly he represents the great people of Quebec in boxing. Vive le Quebec libre insh allah.

 

[kingmob6]

You visited Dagestan?

yes, I had family that lived in Derbent

 

[Koala]

Just because Khabib and Islam is wrestlers people think all of them are wrestler but at the same time just because Khabib and Islam is great, people think all of them are.
Everyone in the Dagestan trains MMA that's why they have so many fighters so it's not about them being special. If some west african country had the same amount of people training for MMA as Dagestan, now that would be a scary domination

Dagestan is way more of a wrestling land than a MMA land
People come from across the world to train or compete in wrestling there
Outside a South African weirdo, I never heard of a non-Caucasian training MMA there

 

[Ace70 V2]

Not to take away from those permanently you mentioned TS, but the takedown threat really alter the approach most strikers would normally take when gameplannkng against opponents. I think some of those fights had it not been the case, would have turned out very differently.