Amar Suloev (January 7, 1976 – June 27, 2016) was an Armenian mixed martial artist.[1] Following his mixed martial arts career, Suloev became involved in the world of organized crime and was arrested and accused of being a contract killer.[2] He died of stomach cancer in June 2016.[3] During his career, he fought for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, and M-1 Global.

Amar Suloev
Born(1976-01-07)January 7, 1976
Tashir, Armenian SFSR, USSR
DiedJune 27, 2016(2016-06-27) (aged 40)
Anapa, Russia
NationalityKurdish
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
DivisionLight Heavyweight
Middleweight
StyleWrestling, Kickboxing, Judo, Sambo, Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofAnapa, Russia
TeamRed Devil Sport Club
Years active1999–2008
Mixed martial arts record
Total33
Wins25
By knockout13
By submission8
By decision4
Losses8
By knockout2
By submission4
By decision2
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

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Suloev was born into a Kurds-Yazidis family in Tashir, Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (now Armenia).[4]

Mixed martial arts career

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A former kickboxer and Greco-Roman wrestler, Suloev was recruited by the Russian team Red Devil Sport Club and made his debut in national promotion M-1 Global in 1999, losing to Andrei Semenov by armbar. Suloev later avenged his defeat by choking out Semenov in Brazil for World Vale Tudo Championship, winning the WVC 11 Middleweight Tournament in the process.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

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At UFC 35, Suloev came to fight in the premier MMA organization of the United States where he faced top light heavyweight Chuck Liddell. The fight went to decision, where Liddell was awarded the win on points. The fight was intense and Suloev demonstrated his level of skill with kickboxing as he avoided the trademark power shots of the feared American fighter. Despite the loss, Amar was one of only seven fighters to take Liddell to decision. The UFC invited him back at UFC 37 to fight Phil Baroni, where a controversial knee by Suloev was landed while Baroni was on his knees getting up, shortly after the referee stood them up, Baroni landed a flurry of punches which stopped Suloev.[4]

PRIDE Fighting Championships

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After a brief stint in the UFC, Suloev returned to M-1 Global for a few fights before jumping to the top Japanese MMA promotion Pride Fighting Championships. His first fight in Pride came against top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ace Dean Lister, which ended in a decision win for Amar. His next fight came against another highly regarded jiu jitsu fighter Paulo Filho, however, in this fight, despite some aggression and relative success in striking on the feet, Filho proved to be the far better grappler, as he got a submission victory. Top Brazilian Top Team fighter, Murilo Bustamante faced Suloev in his next Pride appearance, and on this occasion, Suloev was able to largely keep the fight standing, where his strong kickboxing background guided him to a victory. In his final Pride fight, Denis Kang was his opponent, and much like the fight against Filho, Suloev was unsuccessful in avoiding the submission once the fight reached the canvas.

Personal life

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He was charged as being a part of two assassinations and a third attempt in which a driver was killed. The alleged targets of the attempts were powerful Russian political figures. However, Suloev was never convicted of such things and there were serious problems with the state's case against him. One killer testified that Suloev had been the get away driver. But he did not match eyewitness descriptions of the driver (this in the failed assassination). Even more, his neighbor testified to meeting him on the morning of the attempt at his house at 9:05 am. The attempt occurred at about 9am hundreds of kilometers away.[5] Some of the five other defendants involved in the case were Sergei Zirinov, a Krasnodar legislative assemblyman and member of president Vladimir Putin's "Unified Russia" Party.

At the time of his death, his trial had been suspended and he had been released on bail following his stage four stomach cancer diagnoses.[6]

Championships and accomplishments

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  • M-1 Global
    • 2000 M-1 MFC World Championship Tournament Winner[7]
  • 2 Hot 2 Handle
    • 2H2H 3: Hotter Than Hot Tournament Winner
  • World Vale Tudo Championship
    • WVC 11 Middleweight Tournament Winner[8]

Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
31 matches 24 wins 7 losses
By knockout 12 2
By submission 8 3
By decision 4 2
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 24–7 Jacek Buczko TKO (kick and punches) M-1 Challenge 2: Russia April 3, 2008 1 0:56 St. Petersburg, Russia
Loss 23–7 Chael Sonnen TKO (punches) BodogFIGHT: Alvarez vs. Lee July 14, 2007 2 3:33 Trenton, New Jersey, United States
Win 23–6 Andy Foster KO (punches) BodogFIGHT: Clash of the Nations April 14, 2007 1 0:26 St. Petersburg, Russia
Win 22–6 Hun Kim TKO (punches) M-1 MFC: Russia vs. Korea January 20, 2007 1 4:35 St. Petersburg, Russia
Loss 21–6 Denis Kang Submission (one-arm strangle) PRIDE Bushido 12 August 26, 2006 1 4:10 Nagoya, Japan
Win 21–5 Murilo Bustamante Decision (unanimous) PRIDE Bushido 11 June 4, 2006 2 5:00 Saitama, Japan
Win 20–5 James Nicholl TKO (doctor stoppage) Cage Rage 16 April 22, 2006 1 5:00 London, United Kingdom
Win 19–5 Damien Riccio KO (knee) M-1 MFC: Russia vs. France November 3, 2005 1 1:25 St. Petersburg, Russia
Loss 18–5 Paulo Filho Submission (armbar) PRIDE: Bushido 6 April 3, 2005 1 4:22 Yokohama, Japan
Win 18–4 Dean Lister Decision (split) PRIDE Bushido 4 July 19, 2004 2 5:00 Nagoya, Japan
Win 17–4 Din Thomas TKO (punches and soccer kicks) Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 December 31, 2003 1 4:22 Kobe, Japan
Win 16–4 Yushin Okami TKO (punches) M-1 MFC: Russia vs. the World 6 October 10, 2003 1 4:44 St. Petersburg, Russia
Win 15–4 Julian Gonzales Submission (rear-naked choke) M-1 MFC: Russia vs. the World 4 November 15, 2002 1 1:38 St. Petersburg, Russia
Win 14–4 Paul Cahoon Submission (Suloev stretch)[9] 2H2H 5: Simply the Best October 13, 2002 1 1:03 Rotterdam, Netherlands
Loss 13–4 Phil Baroni TKO (punches) UFC 37 May 10, 2002 1 2:55 Bossier City, Louisiana, United States
Loss 13–3 Chuck Liddell Decision (unanimous) UFC 35 January 11, 2002 3 5:00 Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Light Heavyweight bout.
Win 13–2 Moise Rimbon TKO (punches) 2H2H 3: Hotter Than Hot October 7, 2001 2 4:48 Rotterdam, Netherlands Won 2H2H 3: Hotter Than Hot Tournament.
Win 12–2 Paul Cahoon Decision (2–0 points) 2H2H 3: Hotter Than Hot October 7, 2001 2 5:00 Rotterdam, Netherlands 2H2H 3: Hotter Than Hot Tournament Semifinals.
Win 11–2 Patrick de Witte Submission (armbar) 2H2H 3: Hotter Than Hot October 7, 2001 1 1:11 Rotterdam, Netherlands 2H2H 3: Hotter Than Hot Tournament Quarterfinals.
Win 10–2 Pedro Otavio KO (punches) M-1 MFC: Russia vs. the World 1 April 27, 2001 1 3:40 St. Petersburg, Russia
Win 9–2 Valentin Siouljine TKO (injury) Pancration Cup of Russia 1 December 1, 2000 1 4:52 St. Petersburg, Russia
Win 8–2 Alexander Mayorov TKO (strikes) PCR: Pancration Cup of Russia 1 December 1, 2000 1 1:31 St. Petersburg, Russia
Win 7–2 Vagam Bodjukyan Submission (choke) M-1 MFC: World Championship 2000 November 11, 2000 2 2:51 St. Petersburg, Russia Won M-1 MFC World Championship Tournament.
Win 6–2 Rick Rootlieb Submission (choke) M-1 MFC: World Championship 2000 November 11, 2000 3 0:31 St. Petersburg, Russia M-1 MFC World Championship Tournament Semifinals.
Win 5–2 Andrei Semenov Submission (rear-naked choke) World Vale Tudo Championship 11 May 27, 2000 1 1:47 Recife, Brazil Won WVC 11 Middleweight Tournament.
Win 4–2 Alberto Prima Submission (kicks) World Vale Tudo Championship 11 May 27, 2000 1 1:25 Recife, Brazil WVC 11 Middleweight Tournament Semifinals.
Win 3–2 Luis Alberto KO (kick) WVC 11: World Vale Tudo Championship 11 May 27, 2000 1 2:26 Recife, Brazil WVC 11 Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinals.
Win 2–2 Erik Oganov Submission (armbar) Pankration World Championship 2000 Day 1 April 28, 2000 1 0:21 Moscow, Russia
Loss 1–2 Darrel Gholar Decision PCNC: Pancration Cup of North Caucasus April 9, 2000 2 10:00 St. Petersburg, Russia
Win 1–1 Sergei Yankovski Decision PCNC: Pancration Cup of North Caucasus March 5, 2000 2 10:00 Rostov, Russia
Loss 0–1 Andrei Semenov Submission (armbar) M-1 MFC: World Championship 1999 April 9, 1999 1 6:08 St. Petersburg, Russia 1999 M-1 MFC Middleweight Tournament Semifinals.

References

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  1. ^ Professional MMA record for Amar Suloev from Sherdog
  2. ^ "Одним из подручных депутата Зиринова был известный боец Амар Сулоев". yuga.ru. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Amar Suloev Dead At Age 40". mmanews.com. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  4. ^ a b Zidan, Karim (30 April 2016). "MMA Hitman: The former UFC fighter who became a dangerous contract killer". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Свидетель рассказал суду о передаче Зиринову сумки с автоматом". Kavkaz Uzel (in Russian). 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  6. ^ "В СИЗО погибает чемпион". Versia.ru (in Russian). 15 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  7. ^ M-1 MFC World Championship 2000
  8. ^ WVC 11 Middleweight Tournament
  9. ^ Gould, K. J. (24 February 2013). "UFC 157 Judo Chop: Kenny Robertson's 'Suloev Stretch' kneebar submission against Brock Jardine". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
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