Oleg Taktarov "The Russian Bear"
Record: 17 - 5 - 2
Weight: 210 lbs
Age: 41

Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov (born August 26, 1967) is a Russian mixed martial artist and actor. He is a practitioner of Sambo, Krav Maga and judo and has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and PRIDE Fighting Championship.

Taktarov was the UFC 6 tournament champion and holds notable wins over Marco Ruas and David Abbott "Tank". Taktarov is remembered for being durable exceptionally calm during fights and for using a variety of rarely seen, acrobatic takedown moves trademark of Sambo. Taktarov has never been submitted in a MMA fight.Takatarov entered the UFC 5 tournament, losing to eventual champion Dan Severn by TKO. The fight was stopped by the referee because of profuse bleeding above Taktarov's eye due to a cut caused by knees from Severn while Oleg was seeking an armbar from the guard.

Taktarov returned at UFC 6 where, in the semifinal bout, Anthony Macias was brought in to replace Patrick Smith due to injury. The fight ended in 9 seconds with Taktarov submitting Macias via front choke. Taktarov went on to defeat David Abbott "Tank" by rear naked choke to win the UFC 6 tournament.

Taktarov, being reigning champion, was set up to fight Ken Shamrock in UFC 7 for the Superfight title. The fight had a 30 minute time limit and went into three minutes of overtime, finishing as a draw at 33 minutes.

Perhaps the most famous non-UFC fight of his MMA career is when he faced Renzo Gracie in the MARS Reality Fighting event. The anticipated ground battle never took off and he lost by KO by an up kick as he was looking for a leg submission.

Oleg faced his rival Marco Ruas once again in Brazil in a super fight at the World Vale Tudo Championships. He lost a decision after taking a substantial amount of punishment.

Oleg also faced Brazilian Jiu-jitsu expert Sean Alvarez in Pentagon Combat an event held in Brazil. Wearing boxing trunks, he displayed boxing skills by knocking out his opponent.

In Russia, for a specialized event Oleg faced Dolph Lundgren in a celebrity boxing match.

Oleg Taktarov Fight Results
Result Opponent Method Event Date Round
Win Mark Kerr Submission (Kneebar) YAMMA - Pit Fighting 1 04/11/2008 1
Win John Marsh Submission (Kneebar) Bodog Fight - USA vs. Russia 11/30/2007 2
Win Aaron Salinas Submission (Arm Bar) TK - Total Kombat 05/13/2001 1
Win Moti Horenstein Submission (Kneebar) NF - National Freesparring 02/21/1998 1
Win Mick Tierney Submission (Kneebar) NF - National Freesparring 02/21/1998 1
Loss Gary Goodridge KO (Punch) PRIDE 1 - PRIDE 1 10/11/1997 1
Win Sean Alvarez KO (Punches) Pentagon Combat - Pentagon Combat 09/27/1997 1
Win Chuck Kim Submission (Guillotine Choke) WFF - World Fighting Federation 02/14/1997 1
Loss Renzo Gracie KO (Upkick) MARS - Martial Arts Reality Superfighting 11/22/1996 1
Draw Marco Ruas Draw WVC 2 - World Vale Tudo Championship 2 11/10/1996 1
Win Joe Charles Submission (Kneebar) WVC 1 - World Vale Tudo Championship 1 08/14/1996 1
Loss Ryushi Yanagisawa Decision (Lost Points) Pancrase - Truth 5 05/16/1996 1
Loss Dan Severn Decision UU 95 - Ultimate Utlimate 1995 12/16/1995 1
Win Marco Ruas Decision UU 95 - Ultimate Utlimate 1995 12/16/1995 1
Win Dave Beneteau Submission (Achilles Hold) UU 95 - Ultimate Utlimate 1995 12/16/1995 1
Draw Ken Shamrock Draw UFC 7 - The Brawl in Buffalo 09/08/1995 1
Win David Abbott Submission (Rear Naked Choke) UFC 6 - Clash of the Titans 07/14/1995 1
Win Anthony Macias Submission (Guillotine Choke) UFC 6 - Clash of the Titans 07/14/1995 1
Win Dave Beneteau Submission (Front Choke) UFC 6 - Clash of the Titans 07/14/1995 1
Loss Dan Severn TKO (Cut) UFC 5 - The Return of the Beast 04/07/1995 1
Win Ernie Verdicia Submission (Choke) UFC 5 - The Return of the Beast 04/07/1995 1
Win Maxim Kuzin Submission (Choke) White Dragon - Day Three 10/23/1993 1
Win Artur Almaev TKO (Corner Stoppage) White Dragon - Day Two 10/22/1993 1
Win Vaskas Hilma Submission (Choke) White Dragon - Day Two 10/22/1993 1
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