The tip of the Russian Iceberg in the UFC and why you should care

[HuskySamoan]

So there is currently around 600 fighters on the UFC roster, roughly 300 are American, around 100 are Brazilian and there's about 30 Russians total. I feel like this is a statistic the average fan isn't aware of and doesn't know how to appreciate or even understand. The U.S. is a finely combed country for talent by the UFC and to a lesser extent the 2nd biggest org Bellator and the PFL somewhat from there. A lot of the best regional promotions are direct feeders to the UFC like LFA and CFFC. Brazil is similar, if slightly less picked through some good Brazilians go to the Russian and European scene of MMA a bit moreso than US talent but I'd still say the majority of top talent coming out of Brazil ends up going through Junglefights, LFA and other promotions where if they don't get signed to the UFC its because someone who beats them did, the UFC does a very good job signing a lot of the better Brazilian talent and we see a lot of it on the contender series of late. Russia and Central Asia are largely untapped by the UFC, we will focus on Russia here though, did I mention theres only about 30 Russians in the UFC? (I Believe its actually 28). (less than 10 central Asians in the UFC by the way, and trust me theres loads of high level talent in that part of the world going unsigned). If you get excited seeing guys like Islam Makhachev, Umar Nurmagomedov, Petr Yan, Movsar Evloev wouldn't it bother you to know there's other fighters out there on that level who simply don't get signed?

So I think most fans assume that if the UFC signs a fighter from a country that they're among the best but I'd go a step further and say I think most fans assume if they see a Russian fighter in the UFC its because they were Russias best and the UFC signed them. I just want to say, unlike the US, Brazil, Latin America and the UK, we do not at all see MOST of the best Russian talent despite them being far and above better than a lot of the fighters the UFC more frequently signs from more key demographics. I'm just going to break it down a bit.

Featherweight is perhaps the best example, we have Movsar Evloev in the top 10 of the UFC out of Russia, he's the one the UFC signed but Bibert Tumenov, Evgeniy Ignatiev, Islam Omarov, Timur Khizriev, Movlid Khaybulaev are all among the best FW's in the world not in the UFC. I believe everyone besides Khaybulaev is still in their 20s. Why aren't they being signed? I'm not saying they are better than Movsar, I believe Movsar will contend for the UFC title one day but they are on that same level of prospect that he was.

Lightweight, look at Arman Tsarukyan and Islam Makhachev...many think they're the two best at 155lbs. Why the UFC hasn't signed Alexander Shabliy or Eduard Vartanyan to this day blows my mind, both still well in their primes...Ones a contender in Bellator now and the other in Vartanyan actually tried to get signed to the UFC with no luck, I've been following these two guys in particular since 2014-2015, it's astounding either haven't made it to the UFC, they were in their early twenties and among the best prospects in the sport at LW back then and they're now 29 and 31 and clearly two of the best LW's in the world outside the UFC. I can name more though, obviously Usman Nurmagomedov but we assume the plan is he will eventually go to the UFC. There's others Eldar Eldarov, Abdul-Aziz, even guys like Shamil Gasanov and Magomed Muhammad Magomedov. If these guys were British they'd be in the UFC.

I can do this for every division just about. Is the UFC really where the best fight the best? It certainly has the most high level talent but the quality of the overall roster feels fairly watered down and huge sections of the world get largely ignored relative to other regions simply due to marketability. Does this not make you guys angry? I understand there's always great fighters who never quite get pinned down by the UFC, but there is far too many from the ex soviet part of the world and seeming lack of interest by the UFC.

 

[hswrestler]

Talking Outta my ass here but us russia relations have always been unstable so there might be extra visa hurdles leading to extra costs?
Would understand u fight cheap capping the number of Russians to limit costs. I don't think Russians are that unmarketable. Even if they don't speak good English, they can be spun as the terrifying heel.
It does bother me though

 

[Poirierfan]

Nice little write up, I don't pay attention to Russian fighters (not because I don't want too), so it's nice to get info on who's out there that's really good that the UFC failed to sign. It's mind boggling that the UFC doesn't jump on that kind of talent immediately and pay them their worth.

 

[Dreyga Hates You Sherbums]

Does this not make you guys angry?

No… why would it?

The UFC is an American Promotion that has a mostly American audience that does most of it's shows in America.

Makes sense that they wouldn't flood their roster with Russians especially given the current political climate.

 

[HuskySamoan]

Nice little write up, I don't pay attention to Russian fighters (not because I don't want too), so it's nice to get info on who's out there that's really good that the UFC failed to sign. It's mind boggling that the UFC doesn't jump on that kind of talent immediately.

There's a lot man, like some really good ones. There's loads or Brazilian talent rising up that's young but they're mostly all already in the LFA or JungleFights or recently on the contender series win or lose, so on the UFC track which is great. But Russian talent? And even Kazakh/Tajik/Kyrgyz/Uzbek is really growing and has some no brainer signnees. They just signed Shara Bullet (his starting contract is confirmed larger than 50k/50k) but Magomedrasul Gasanov is probably the best Russian MW and Vladimir Mineev, Salamu Abdurakhmanov are 3 of the best non UFC MWs in the entire world....Anatoly Tokov in Bellator is very good too. Shara is great though, my 2nd pick of Russia MWs so I'm super happy. I think price is definitely part of the issue, one of my top BW prospects in the world tried to get signed to the UFC, they turned him down and offered him a 8k contender series bout so he signed with Bellator instead. It's a lot to follow, I was out of the scene for years, used to be way more in it and got back in it again. It's always been a bit of a problem. I'm ranting, this is more for me than anyone else to vent, you sherbros are just playing psychologist.

 

[Buff]

I know for certain that the Russians will obliterate the Americans at Slap Fighting, but that's about it.

Spoiler

The Russian MMA system has a ridiculous amount of red tape - if a promotion wants a guy to stay on then he stays on - Prime example being Roman Zentsov and M-1 (albeit he turned out to be a dud)... Its not like UFC will be doing business with any company from the Russian Federation any time soon - most of the actual Russian fighters had some kind of money backing them going into the big shows to get them training in America and western Europe so they skipped a few hurdles coming up...

In other words, if the Dagestanis don't do it then the Russians won't either.

 

[HuskySamoan]

No… why would it?

Imagine if Nigeria had tons of elite fighters who had fought better competition, amassed better records and yet the UFC signed them at a significantly lower rate than other countries. You wouldn't be clamoring to see those guys signed? If it doesn't anger you, I question what you're a fan of. It's like when Laszlo Papp could fight stateside despite being the greatest Olympic boxer of all time due to communism....You should want to see the best fight the best.

 

[ChimRichalds]

Any idea what the issue is? I haven't been able to figure a solid reason behind neglecting a certain part of the world for so long.

 

[europe1]

Post-Pride (and Post-Strikeforce) the UFC really doesn't feel the need to sign all the best people in the world since they are not in a competition for legitimacy with anyone else. The question of which org is "the best" has already been so thoroughly answered that they can relax and take it easy and still bathe in all the revenue of the sport. Back then one's "roster" genuinelly affected how an org was percieved now they're riding high on brand-recognition alone.

Basically, they are so powerful and profitable that questions like these are of little urgency to the UFC anymore. Besides, Russians and drawing eyeballs is more often that not a hassle.

 

[HuskySamoan]

I know for certain that the Russians will obliterate the Americans at Slap Fighting, but that's about it.

Spoiler

The Russian MMA system has a ridiculous amount of red tape - if a promotion wants a guy to stay on then he stays on - Prime example being Roman Zentsov and M-1 (albeit he turned out to be a dud)... Its not like UFC will be doing business with any company from the Russian Federation any time soon - most of the actual Russian fighters had some kind of money backing them going into the big shows to get them training in America and western Europe so they skipped a few hurdles coming up...

In other words, if the Dagestanis don't do it then the Russians won't either.

Yeah, almost none of Chechens leave ACA, I do wonder about this being an issue but there's still a lot of guys who try to get signed that are over qualified and get looked over while lesser Western fighters get snatched up even when they're 10-4 regional guys. Just feels worth beating the drum over. Visas are an issue sometimes too of course.

 

[Poirierfan]

There's a lot man, like some really good ones. There's loads or Brazilian talent rising up that's young but they're mostly all already in the LFA or JungleFights or recently on the contender series win or lose, so on the UFC track which is great. But Russian talent? And even Kazakh/Tajik/Kyrgyz/Uzbek is really growing and has some no brainer signnees. They just signed Shara Bullet (his starting contract is confirmed larger than 50k/50k) but Magomedrasul Gasanov is probably the best Russian MW and Vladimir Mineev, Salamu Abdurakhmanov are 3 of the best non UFC MWs in the entire world....Anatoly Tokov in Bellator is very good too. Shara is great though, my 2nd pick of Russia MWs so I'm super happy. I think price is definitely part of the issue, one of my top BW prospects in the world tried to get signed to the UFC, they turned him down and offered him a 8k contender series bout so he signed with Bellator instead. It's a lot to follow, I was out of the scene for years, used to be way more in it and got back in it again. It's always been a bit of a problem. I'm ranting, this is more for me than anyone else to vent, you sherbros are just playing psychologist.

Yeah, I hadn't consider the pay aspect of it all. The UFC's own incompetence and measly UFC rookie contracts probably has a lot to do with it, but what do I know. Lol, however, it's still kinda aggravating that they'll sign these mediocre contender series prospects just because they got a nice finish in that one fight, but they're guys in Russia that would wipe the floor with them and they're still out there.

 

[Dreyga Hates You Sherbums]

Imagine if Nigeria had tons of elite fighters who had fought better competition, amassed better records and yet the UFC signed them at a significantly lower rate than other countries. You wouldn't be clamoring to see those guys signed? If it doesn't anger you, I question what you're a fan of. It's like when Laszlo Papp could fight stateside despite being the greatest Olympic boxer of all time due to communism....You should want to see the best fight the best.

Sure I love seeing the best fight the best but at the same time I don't get mad at people doing logical things.

The UFC is an American Promotion that has a mostly American audience that does most of it's shows in America.

Makes sense that they wouldn't flood their roster with Russians especially given the current political climate.

Why should they do irrational things?

 

[SuperAlly]

Does anyone else just skip and ignore a post when they read U Fight Cheap

 

[Bobby00]

Its harder to sign them because they made a name for themselves at home. They wont sign just to get a chance for big money when they are already getting paid well in their Org. Would you rather stay in your home and make a good living where the money also goes further or sign to the UFC to make 12-12 in your UFC debut. Brazil is a lot closer also, so fighters can realistically live in Brazil and fight in the UFC. Its not impossible but it requires a lot of traveling. Im sure visas are a issue too.

 

[HuskySamoan]

Any idea what the issue is? I haven't been able to figure a solid reason behind neglecting a certain part of the world for so long.

There's several prominent Russian promotions like M1 and ACA that pay their guys fairly well, so the UFC can't lowball them. Also the UFC is an American based company with a primarily English speaking audience and secondary Brazilian and Spanish speaking audience. This is what they care about most, PPV buying, viewers on specific western platforms etc. They also follow a lot of Boxing and WWE business tactics, I'd rather within MMA have the UFC be a like a international league where all the best qualify to get into regardless of nationality, but that's fantasy land. Then Visa issues and them not being as easily accessible for short notice fights which is how a lot of guys get signed.

MMA is hugely popular in these parts of the world though. And they relative to population produce probably the best amount and quality of talent and we see just pieces of it. Damn shame.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

It might have something to do with the Russian timezone maybe, not sure how popular it is in Russia but it would be very early morning there for most cards.

I feel that one reason the UFC is popular in Australia is because the timezone is ok, most cards start at midday on a Sunday. And it feels like Aussie fighters are very highly represented in the UFC as well of course.

 

[HuskySamoan]

It might have something to do with the Russian timezone maybe, not sure how popular it is in Russia but it would be very early morning there for most cards.

I feel that one reason the UFC is popular in Australia is because the timezone is ok, most cards start at midday on a Sunday. And it feels like Aussie fighters are very highly represented in the UFC as well of course.

Not a chance, have you seen the follower count on Russian fighters instagrams? Or UFC Russia views on youtube? Its more popular in certain parts of Russia than the US. And there's big spill over into the Russian speaking Islamic world so Central Asia too. MMA is popular, rapidly growing, and well watched from these regions.

 

[Dreyga Hates You Sherbums]

Any idea what the issue is? I haven't been able to figure a solid reason behind neglecting a certain part of the world for so long.

Not a lot people speak Russian. It is hard to market them to a large global audience. So UFC doesn't get a lot of return from these guys as champions.

Whereas they make a shit ton from guys who speak English, Spanish, and Chinese the three most spoken languages in the world. The UFC is already investing millions to develop stars in Mexico and China. That's why those were the first two places they opened PI's there.

It's also the reason why countries like the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada are very high priority for the UFC. It's easy to sell champions from these places

 

[europe1]

Not a chance, have you seen the follower count on Russian fighters instagrams? Or UFC Russia views on youtube? Its more popular on certain parts of Russia than the US. And there's big spill over into the Russian speaking Islamic work so Central Asia too. MMA is popular, rapidly growing, and well watched from these regions.

Russia/the Islamic world is notorious for having abysmal purchasing-power though.

There is a reason why the UFC went to Sweden half-a-dozen times before they ever even thought about heading to Russia. Even though Russia has over 14 times Sweden's population, a much greater MMA interest/scene, and is a supposed superpower.

What changed with, say, Khabib is that he caught the attention of oil princes and you know what kind of money they throw around.

 

[HuskySamoan]

Not a lot people speak Russian. It is hard to market them to a large global audience. So UFC doesn't get a lot of return from these guys as champions.

Whereas they make a shit ton from guys who speak English, Spanish, and Chinese the three most spoken languages in the world. The UFC is already investing millions to develop stars in Mexico and China. That's why those were the first two places they opened PI's there

260m speak Russian. It's like the 6th most spoken language and when you take into account no one in China or India gives a shit about MMA, its basically the 3rd ot 4th most spoken language relative to the subject. You're wrong.