Khadis Ibragimov

Khadis Ibragimov is a Russian mixed martial artist and sambo practitioner. A professional competitor since 2017, he has also formerly competed for Ultimate Fighting Championship and M-1 Global where he was the Light heavyweight Champion. Twice European Combat Sambo champion.

Background

A native of Dagestan, Khadis Ibragimov first came to the sports section at the age of 17, deciding to try his hand at boxing.A typical "nerd", Ibragimov unexpectedly discovered a serious aptitude for combat sports and continued to pursue martial arts upon becoming a cadet at the Mikhailovskaya Military Artillery Academy. There, he honed his skills in army hand-to-hand combat and combat sambo.
At the age of 20, he won a silver medal at the Russian Combat Sambo Championship, got into the national team and won the 2016 European Championship, after which he was forced to take a year-long break due to knee surgery. After recovery, Ibragimov decided to leave the army after serving two years as a lieutenant and continued his mixed martial arts career.

Mixed martial arts career

M-1 Global

Khadis Ibragimov made his professional MMA debut in the light heavyweight division on May 25, 2017, in St. Petersburg, at the Suvorov Fighting Championship tournament, where he defeated Mukhamedali Shokirov by technical knockout in less than 2 minutes. In the same year, Ibragimov had three more bouts at regional events in St. Petersburg, winning all three.
In February 2018, Ibragimov stepped in on short notice to fight German fighter Stefan Pütz. Ibragimov won the fight by third-round submission via bulldog choke.
After winning his next fight against Gigi Kukhalashvili, Ibragimov challenged Dmitry Mikutsa for the M-1 Global Light Heavyweight Championship. At M-1 Challenge 96 on August 25, 2018, Ibragimov finished Mikutsa by second-round rear naked choke to win the title.
He successfully defended the title in March 2019, defeating Rafał Kijańczuk from Poland by first-round technical knockout.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ibragimov made his UFC debut against fellow newcomer Jung Da Un on August 31, 2019. He lost the fight via standing guillotine in the third round.
Ibragimov next made a short notice replacement against Ed Herman. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
A bout between Ibragimov and Roman Dolidze was initially scheduled for the promotion's inaugural event in Kazakhstan planned a month prior. However, the fight was postponed after the card was moved to Las Vegas due to travel restrictions for both participants related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pairing was left intact and eventually took place on July 19, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2. Ibragimov lost the fight via technical knockout in round one.
Ibragimov faced promotional newcomer Danilo Marques on September 27, 2020, at UFC 253. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
On October 2, 2020, it was reported Ibragimov was released by UFC.

Hardcore FC

After going winless in the UFC, Khadis Ibragimov returned to Russia, where he joined the newly-founded Russian promotion Hardcore FC.
On September 2, 2021, Ibragimov defeated Islam Zhangorazov by first-round technical knockout.
On October 14, 2021, Ibragimov moved up to heavyweight defeated Dmitry Andryushko by first-round technical knockout.
On November 18, 2021, he defeated Denis Polekhin via a 9-second knockout.

HFC Heavyweight Champion

On December 23, 2021, Khadis Ibragimov defeated Hussein Adamov by unanimous decision to win the HFC Heavyweight Championship.
He defended the title twice, defeating Abdulbasir Vagabov by second-round submission at Hardcore FC 38 on August 18, 2022, and then knocking out Fernando Rodrigues Jr. in the first round at Hardcore FC 62 on May 19, 2023.