wushu sanda legend

Russian mixed martial arts fighter Muslim Salikhov has been performing in the UFC for several years. The 38-year-old athlete has not achieved great success in the federation, and he is not very well known to the general public in our country. But things could have turned out differently if not for the actions of the US Anti-Doping Agency.

A native of Dagestan is very popular outside of Russia. He is the most titled wushu sandist in the world. Numerous victories in this sport contributed to the formation of a huge army of Chinese fans in the fighter.

Muslim has many international competitions behind him, where he won gold medals. Five times Salikhov became the world champion and won the European championship twice. The fighter also achieved a unique achievement. He became the first non-Chinese wushu sandist to win the prestigious King of Kung Fu tournament.

Photo: © Robertus Pudyanto / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

“They stole my shorts and gloves”

In 2006, Muslim Salikhov already had a number of major successes on the world stage. By this time, the Russian had won domestic competitions, the European championship, and also became the best at the World Championships. These successes led to the fact that a promising fighter was noticed in KFK. This organization holds the most prestigious wushu-sanda tournament in China, called the “King of Kung Fu”.

– In 2005, when I won the World Championship, the Chinese came up and gave me a contract for this tournament, which was to be held in six months. I prepared well for these competitions, gaining good shape after the World Championships. There was also a serious financial motivation. They offered good money. At that time, they didn’t pay so much in any martial arts, ”the athlete told about how he got to these competitions.

In China, Muslim faced a serious test. The tournament was held in a short time, and several fights had to be held in one day. According to the regulations, Salikhov first had to become the best in his weight category, defeating two fighters. Then, if successful, he got a chance to compete for the title of “King of Kung Fu” in the overall standings. But before Muslim, none of the fighters born outside of China became the winner of these competitions.

Many recognized Wushu Sanda masters tried to break the Chinese hegemony at the KFK tournament, but Salikhov was the first to do it. First, he defeated two opponents in the weight category up to 80 kilograms, and then in a brilliant manner completed both fights in the overall standings.

Photo: © Robertus Pudyanto / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

A bright victory gave a sharp impetus to the development of the entire European wushu. Muslim, on the other hand, fell in love with a huge army of Chinese fans. After winning the title, a funny incident even happened to Salikhov.

— When I won the King of Kung Fu tournament, I went into the locker room and changed. Then I discovered that the shorts and gloves in which I performed were stolen from me. It turned out that the fans appropriated them to themselves. At that moment, a crowd of Chinese people were waiting on the street, who began to take pictures of me, but the police helped, they escorted me to the bus. Then I felt what popularity is, ”Salikhov recalled.

“How can I take some steroids?”

Five years later, Muslim, in parallel with wushu-sanda, began to compete in battles according to the rules of mixed martial arts. MMA career was almost perfect: only one defeat in 14 fights. This attracted the attention of the UFC to the athlete. At the end of 2017, Salikhov made his debut in the strongest promotion.

The first fight, unfortunately, was unsuccessful for Muslim. He lost via submission to Alex Garcia. This defeat, of course, might not have happened if the athlete had managed to properly prepare for the fight. But a few days before the fight, real grief happened in the life of a fighter. Muslim’s father passed away, and there was no talk of full-fledged preparation.

But all the hardships that happened did not break Salikhov, on the contrary, he triumphantly returned to the octagon. In April 2018, he defeated Ricky Rainey by knockout. The right side in the middle of the second round became fatal for the American.

After such a victory, Muslim’s career could go up sharply, but the American anti-doping service USADA intervened, suspecting the athlete of using illegal drugs. On June 20, the UFC published a statement on the official website.

Photo: © Brandon Magnus / Contributor / UFC / Gettyimages.com

The UFC was notified today that the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed athlete Muslim Salikhov of a potential anti-doping policy violation related to an out-of-competition sample collected on June 7, 2018 in Russia. USADA will process the results and properly handle this case involving the athlete, the promotion said in an official press release.

Later it turned out that the Russian was suspected of using steroids. At the time of the investigation, the athlete was suspended from speaking in the UFC. He was threatened with up to two years of disqualification, but the King of Kung Fu did not admit his guilt.

– I don’t understand anything myself, an investigation is underway, there are no results yet. I hope to be acquitted. It’s a mistake, there can’t even be any doubt. They came to check on me in the month of Ramadan. I kept a post, how can I take some steroids? I hope that this is just a mistake and they will justify me, ”Muslim shared his impressions of what happened.

When there are illegal drugs in the blood of Russian athletes, in the current realities, one can only hope for a miracle. Only a few escape punishment in such cases. But Salikhov was very lucky. The Anti-Doping Service was unable to establish whether he used a prohibited drug at all, and if so, how long ago. Six samples taken showed conflicting results. The remains of the drug then disappeared, then reappeared. As a result, Muslim was fully acquitted and he returned to performances in the promotion.

Eight months of downtime still hit hard on the career of a 38-year-old fighter from Russia. It’s almost impossible for Salikhov to get to the belt now, given the last defeat, but he is capable of holding a few more competitive fights.