5 Best Russian UFC Fighters 

#2 Oleg Taktarov (17-5-2)

The Russian Bear!

The first recognized Russian MMA Star in UFC history, Oleg Taktarov is as seasoned as they come. He has a Master of Sport in both Judo and Sambo and has Black belts in Judo and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

The Russian Bear had his first professional MMA fight in 1993 and took part in the UFC 5 tournament in April 1995. Taktarov lost to UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn in the Semi-Finals but returned to be a part of UFC 6 in July 1995.

Taktarov went on to win the sixth edition of the tournament after notching up wins against the likes of Anthony Macias, Dave Beneteau, and Tank Abbott. He went head to head with Ken Shamrock at the subsequent UFC 7 event in UFC Superfight Title match. Even though the 33-minute encounter ended in a draw, it solidified Taktarov as being the real deal. He went from strength to strength and defeated Brazilian Marco Ruas in his penultimate UFC appearance. His final fight for the UFC was in a losing effort against Dan Severn at UFC’s Ultimate Ultimate in December in 1995.

The Russian Bear owned 1995! He fought 9 times that year (6 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw), that included two 30-minute fights and his UFC 6 Tournament victory.

He continued to fight sporadically until 2008 before turning towards making it big in show business. Tarktarov has appeared in more than 40 movies and has small roles in hits such as Bad Boys II, Air Force One and National Treasure. The retired legend has not lost in his last five fights, the last of which happened in 2008.