Ruslan Gadzhimagomedovich Magomedov (Russian:Руслан Гаджимагомедович Магомедов; born 26 November 1986) is a Russian formermixed martial artist,^[2][3] who competed in theHeavyweight division.^[4] Magomedov was the first UFC fighter to receive lifetime ban fromUSADA after sustaining his third anti-doping violation in February 2019. He is ranked #8 in theACA heavyweight rankings.^[5]

Magomedov was born 26 November 1986 inTsudakhar, Levashinsky District, Dagestan ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. He is an ethnic Dargin^[2][3] and a devoutSunni Muslim. At the age of eight he began to train inKarate,Amateur boxing andMuay Thai under Igor Ivanov. After higher school, he joined the Russian ArmyStrategic Missile Troops inYekaterinburg andIrkutsk, in the army he won nationalArmy hand-to-hand fight championships, he isSecond lieutenant, after the army he started MMA.^[6]

Magomedov made his professional MMA debut in November 2008 and went 9-1 in his first 10 fights.^{[citation needed]}

Ruslan trains in Russian MMA Academy. He sparred with OlympicWrestling Champions from theDagestan Republic. Ruslan has shown goodboxing technique, as he has four victories coming by way of knockout.^{[citation needed]}

He defeated formerUFC Heavyweight ChampionRicco Rodriguez via unanimous decision at United Glory 15.^[7]

In April 2012, Ruslan signed a contract withBellator Fighting Championships.^[8]

Magomedov was expected to compete in theBellator season seven heavyweight tournament, and was expected to faceBrett Rogers in the quarterfinals atBellator 75.^[9] However, Magomedov was forced out of the bout with a visa problems and replaced byAlexander Volkov.

Magomedov facedStrikeforce veteran andCage Warriors Heavyweight ChampionMike Hayes on 23 February 2013 on Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 10.^[10] He won via unanimous decision.

Magomedov faced formerUFC Heavyweight ChampionTim Sylvia on 27 October 2013 on Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 13.^[11] He won the fight via unanimous decision.

In February 2014, Magomedov signed a contract with theUFC to fight in theirHeavyweight division.^[12]

Magomedov made his UFC debut against fellow newcomerViktor Pešta on 31 May 2014 atUFC Fight Night 41.^[13] By this time, Magomedov was splitting his training between the MMA Academy in Russia and Jackson/Winklejohn MMA inAlbuquerque, USA.^[14] He won the fight by unanimous decision.^[15]

Magomedov was briefly linked to a bout withBen Rothwell for on 30 August 2014 atUFC 177.^[16] However, on 9 July, the UFC announced Rothwell would be facingAlistair Overeem on 5 September 2014 atUFC Fight Night 50.^[17]Magomedov eventually was linked to a bout with Richard Odoms on the same card. However, on 14 August, it was announced that the bout would be scrapped due to an injury from Odoms.^[18]

Magomedov faced Josh Copeland on 22 November 2014 atUFC Fight Night 57.^[19] He won the fight via unanimous decision.^[20]

Magomedov facedShawn Jordan on 3 October 2015 atUFC 192.^[21] He won via unanimous decision.^[22]

Magomedov was expected to faceGabriel Gonzaga on 10 April 2016 atUFC Fight Night 86.^[23] However, Magomedov was forced from the bout in early March due to injury and replaced byDerrick Lewis.^[24]

Magomedov was expected to faceStefan Struve on 8 October 2016 atUFC 204, but had to pull out with injury.^[25]

On 26 September 2016 Magomedov was suspended by USADA, the administrator of the UFC anti-doping program following a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection made on 7 September 2016^[26] In February 2018, it was announced that Magomedov had received a two years USADA suspension after testing positive forostarine in relation to a sample collected in 29 October 2016. In addition, Magomedov along with teammateZubaira Tukhugov agreed to pay a total of 10,000 US Dollars towards arbitration costs.^[27]

Magomedov was scheduled to faceMarcos Rogerio de Lima on 3 November 2018 atUFC 230.^[28] However, it was reported on 24 October 2018 that he pulled out from the event due to visa issues and he was replaced byAdam Wieczorek.^[29]

In April 2019, Magomedov received a lifetime ban fromUSADA after sustaining his second and third violations under the policy. Magomedov tested positive for twoanabolic steroids in October 2018 and then in February 2019 refused to complete the sample collection process as requested by a doping control officer during an out-of-competition test session.^[30]

After the ban, Magomedov signed with theAbsolute Championship Akhmat. He made his promotional debut againstDaniel James atACA 101: Strus vs. Nemchinov on 15 November 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision.^[31]

He made his sophomore appearance against Dmitry Poberezhets atACA 115: Magomed Ismailov vs. Shtyrkov on 12 December 2020. He was knocked out cold in the third round.^[32]

Magomedov faced Denis Smoldarev on 16 July 2021 atACA 126: Magomedov vs. Egemberdiev. He lost the bout via split decision.^[33]

^[34]

• List of current UFC fighters
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• Official UFC Profile
• Professional MMA record for Ruslan Magomedov fromSherdog

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