Does Dagestani UFC heavyweight Shamil Abdurakhimov have military experience?

Despite not much being known about his involvement in the military, UFC heavyweight Shamil Abdurakhimov does have military experience. The Dagestan-born veteran is said to have become a Sanshou national champion in Russia after leaving the military. Sanshou is also referred to as Chinese kickboxing. The Russian started training in the martial art during primary school. He eventually became a five-time national champion.

Abdurakhimov also has experience in boxing and freestyle wrestling, which have all helped him during his long professional MMA career, which started in 2008. It's unknown whether his passion for martial arts started during his time in the military. However, given the nature of Russian training, it would seem likely that Abdurakhimov learned some of his skills while serving his country.

Shamil Abdurakhimov is currently 41 years old and still competes at a high level in the UFC. However, the Russian is currently in poor form, losing his last three fights in the organization. His most recent fights against Curtis Blaydes, Chris Daukaus and Sergei Pavlovich all failed to go past two rounds.

Before suffering these back-to-back defeats, 'Abrek' had won his last three fights against highly-rated UFC heavyweights. The Russian managed to beat Marcin Tybura, Andrei Arlovski and Chase Sherman in consecutive bouts.

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Why is Shamil Abdurakhimov not fighting at UFC 279?

Shamil Abdurakhimov was meant to fight Jailton Almeida at UFC 279: Chimaev vs. Diaz this weekend. However, the Russian suffered visa issues and his bout had to be canceled by the UFC.

Almeida has managed to find a new opponent, Anton Turkalj, with the Swedish fighter stepping in on short notice to save the Brazilian's fight. Abdurakhimov probably wasn't too surprised, with many foreign fighters suffering from visa issues in the United States and even the United Kingdom.

Fellow Russian fighter Alexander Volkov also suffered from visa issues when his fight against Tom Aspinall at UFC London had to be canceled. Curtis Blyades took the Russian's spot, with the UFC fighter's visa issues reportedly due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

It's unclear if Shamil Abdurakhimov's visa problems are a personal issue. Russian-born fighters Khamzat Chimaev and Denis Tiuliulin both still able to compete on the pay-per-view card in Las Vegas this weekend. However, Chimaev represents the Swedish flag due to being based in the country for his MMA training camps.