The landmark contest showcased the nation’s most prominent up and coming talent and was attended by some of Russia’s leading MMA professionals and international sport stars, such as heavyweight MMA icon Fedor Emelianenko and former heavyweight boxing world champion, Nioklai Valuev.
Arguably the most impressive domestic level competition in the world of amateur MMA, the event served as a major test for Russia’s 2018 IMMAF-WMMAA world champions, who were awarded automatic qualification to the 2019 national championships finals.
As the world’s most extensive domestic circuit for amateur MMA, the regulated competition platform spans the entire nation and draws on thousands of athletes, from Moscow to Siberia, where challengers compete to advance through their local city, regional and federal championships in order to reach the coveted finals.
The Russian MMA Union estimates twenty-thousand (20,000) active amateur MMA athletes spanning age levels from cadet to senior. As a result, the talent pool is vast and has produced no shortage of established veterans, many of who now feature as professionals in the UFC and under the banner of other standout promotions such as Bellator, PFL and M-1.
In 2018, Russia produced a combined national team for the first time under both the Russian MMA Union and Russian MMA Federation, with record breaking success.
2018 men’s flyweight world champion, Ruslan Satiev, cemented himself as Russia’s number-one senior competitor at 125lbs, alongside his 2018 national team mate and IMMAF-WMMAA World Championships gold medalist, Islam Bagomedov, who claimed the Russian MMA Union’s national crown at 170lbs.
Young light-heavyweight prospect Igor Glazkov competed against his countrymen at the senior level, having won the junior IMMAF-WMMAA world title (for athletes age 18-20) in 2018. Glazkov achieved silver at the national finals while senior 205lb world champion Magomed Shakhrudinov bested him to take the gold medal.
The event further contributed to the history of Russian MMA with the first ever women’s national championships, announced by Russian MMA Union president Radmir Gabdullin earlier this year. The championship’s highly contested debut provided a gateway for female talent to achieve experience and follow in the pioneering footsteps of women such as Svetlana Kotova and Polina Kobzeva, who both represented Russia and earned medals at the IMMAF-WMMAA World Championships in 2018.
By IMMAF.org lead writer: Jorden Curran
Photos via Facebook
See full list of 2019 Russian national medalists below:
MEN’S MEDAL WINNERS:
Strawweight
1. Farkhod Rakhmonaliev
2. Magomed Aliev
3. Kenan Kuliev
3. Adam Khamkhoev
Flyweight
1. Ruslan Satiev
2. Suleiman Bershigadov
3. Akhmed Gamzatov
3. Ilyas Sadykov
Bantamweight
1. Gadzhimurad Zavaev
2. Magomedrasul Gusengadzhiev
3. Dzhamaludin Aliev
*3. Magomed Gadzhiev
Featherweight
1. Akhmed Gazimagomedov
2. Magomed Magomedov
3. Magomed Daitbegov
3. Asad Datsilaev
Lightweight
1. Murad Umachiev
2. Salamat Isbulaev
3. Omaraskhab Yusupov
3. Magomedrasul Magomedov
Welterweight
1. Rustam Khadisgadzhiev
2. Evgeniy Morozov
3. Islam Bagomedov
3. Alibek Suleimanov
Middleweight
1. Yusup Magomedov
2. Gazimurad Magomedov
3. Alexandr Chemaev
*3. Magomedhabib Umarov
Light-Heavyweight
1. Magomed Shakhrudinov
2. Igor Glazkov
3. Alexey Timoshishin
3. Anton Leschev
Heavyweight
1. Shamil Kuramagomedov
2. Gadzhimurad Bagaudinov
3. Maxim Drokin
3. Shamsutdin Makhmudov
Super-Heavyweight
1. Khamzat Taisumov
2. Islam Ramazanov
WOMEN’S MEDAL WINNERS:
Atomweight
1. Daria Nyrkova
2. Raxana Ivanova
3. Olga Vaseeva
3. Bella Shakova
Strawweight
1. Karina Ivanova
2. Kristina Purgina
3. Xenia Vildanshina
3. Ekaterina Blokhina
Flyweight
1. Zemfira Alieva
2. Olga Kochkina
3. Anastasiya Chebotareva
3. Daria Minaeva
Bantamweight
1. Daria Tereschenko
2. Viktoria Dudakova
3. Maria Serpeneva
3. Zuleikha Tolgurova
Featherweight
1. Tatiana Postarnakova
2. Anastasiya Glotova
3. Natalia Starkova
Lightweight
1. Olga Rusina
2. Alena Maskaeva
3. Maria Mironova
3. Olga Alieva
