Top 10 best Eastern European fighters in MMA history
By Keith Shillan
10. “The Russian Bear” Oleg Taktarov
Before Oleg Taktarov was a Hollywood actor starring in blockbuster films like Bad Boys II, Predators, and National Treasure, he was a Mixed Martial Arts fighter. The Sambo trained fighter first debuted in a tournament in Latvia in 1993 winning all three events. He wouldn’t return for nearly two years before being entered in UFC 5 tournament.
Back in those days, the tournament was an 8 man one-night competition without any weight classes and not many rules. Taktarov quickly submitted his first foe before being matched against future UFC Hall of Famer and the only fighter to win the MMA Triple Crown, Dan Severn. Severn outweighed Taktarov by approximately 50 pounds and made the Russian fighter suffer for it. The three-time Olympic alternate took Taktarov to the canvas and avoided all the submission attempts Taktarov attempted to secure on the larger man. Severn eventually was able to pin Taktarov’s head against the cage while grabbing a handful of the cage himself and rain down knees to a grounded Taktarov (two techniques which would be illegal today). The fight was eventually stopped due to a cut on Taktarov, who was swimming in a pool of his own blood. The Russian fighter refused to tap out instead showing his legendary toughness.
Though he wasn’t the evening’s champion, the foreign fighter became a crowd favorite due to his insane toughness.
Taktarov would return to the Octagon at UFC 6, where he was crowned the evening’s tournament champion by submitting all three of his opponents include beating David “Tank” Abbott.
Taktarov would go on to defeat UFC 7 tournament champion and legendary fighter, Marco Ruas, and UFC tournament 14 and 15 champions, Mark Kerr. He would fight Ken Shamrock, who was widely considered the pound for pound best fighter in the world at the time back at UFC 7, where they fought to a draw in the night’s “Superfight”.
Taktarov would only compete at the very first Pride FC event and the infamous Yamma Pitfighting show. He would close his career out winning his last five contests.
Though a prime Taktarov would likely struggle in today’s UFC due to a lack of athleticism, he introduced the MMA world to the toughness of Eastern European fighters and the greatness of Sambo.
He is the pioneer of Eastern European MMA.