Mamed Khalidov

Mamed Khalidov (Russian: Мамед Магомедович Халидов, tr. Mamed Magomedovich Khalidov, IPA: [mɐˈmʲɛt maɣɔmʲɛdɔvʲit͡ʂ xɐˈlʲidəf]; Polish: Mamed Chalidow [ˈmamɛt xaˈlidɔf]; born 17 July 1980 in Grozny) is a Russian-born Polish mixed martial artist. He is best known for competing in the Middleweight division of Polish MMA promotion KSW, where he is the former KSW Light Heavyweight and KSW Middleweight Champions. He is currently ranked #1 in the KSW Middleweight rankings. Mamed Khalidov was born in Chechnya, Soviet Union. He began practicing Kyokushin around the age of 12 or 13, where he also holds a black belt. At the age of 17, he fled from his homeland to Poland and continued practicing Kyokushin, while adding other combat styles to his repertoire such as Taekwondo, Shotokan, wrestling and boxing soon after his arrival. He also became competitive in all sports. Later he also became interested about becoming a mixed martial artist and began training mixed martial arts, Muay Thai, combat sambo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling.