Alexander Sarnavskiy facts for kids

Alexander Sarnavskiy (born January 17, 1989) is a Russian athlete. He is a professional Mixed Martial Artist (MMA). He competes in the lightweight division.

Alexander has been fighting professionally since 2008. He has mostly competed in his home country, Russia. He is known for fighting in M-1 Global and was a top fighter in the lightweight division for Bellator Fighting Championships.

Alexander's MMA Journey

Early Life and Training

Alexander Sarnavskiy was born in 1989 in a village called Gorky, in Kazakhstan. In 1998, his family moved to Omsk, Russia. This is where his sports journey began.

He first started learning kickboxing at the Lokomotiv club for two years. He did very well in local competitions. Later, he became interested in pankration. This led him to train in hand-to-hand combat and combat sambo. He trained at the Saturn-Profi martial arts school.

When he was 18, Alexander decided to become a professional in mixed martial arts. His coach, Alexander Shlemenko, was a big inspiration for him.

Fighting in M-1 Global

Alexander started his MMA career with an amazing record of 8 wins and no losses. After this, he joined M-1 Global to enter their special tournament.

In his first fight there, he faced Maxim Kuptsov. Alexander won by using a move called a "rear naked choke." This made his opponent give up.

Next, he fought Karen Grigoryan and won again. This win moved him to the final round of the tournament. At this time, a sports website called Sherdog said he was the best undefeated young fighter in Europe.

Alexander continued to impress. At an event called M-1 Challenge XXI, he fought Victor Kuku. Alexander quickly knocked Kuku down with a spinning back fist. He then won the fight by knockout.

In March 2011, Alexander had his first MMA fight in the United States. He won this fight by submission in the second round.

Time with Bellator MMA

On June 19, 2012, Alexander signed a contract with Bellator. This meant he left M-1 Global.

He joined Bellator's lightweight tournament. In his first fight in the tournament, he lost a close decision to Rich Clementi.

However, Alexander quickly bounced back. He defeated Tony Hervey by a clear decision.

In 2013, Alexander entered another Bellator Lightweight tournament. He won his first fight against Thiago Michel by submission. Unfortunately, he broke his hand in that fight. This injury made him unable to continue in the tournament.

Later in 2013, Alexander entered yet another Lightweight tournament. He won his first fight against Marcus Davis with a rear naked choke. He then won his semifinal fight against Ricardo Tirloni with a triangle choke.

In the tournament finals, Alexander faced Will Brooks. He lost this fight by decision.

After almost a year, Alexander returned to Bellator. He won his fight against Dakota Cochrane by submission in the first round.

His last fight with Bellator was against Marcin Held in April 2015. Alexander lost this fight and then left the promotion.

After Bellator

After leaving Bellator, Alexander continued to fight. He won a fight against Jesse Ronson in October 2015.

He then joined Eurasia Fight Nights Global (EFN). He won a fight there against Dmitry Bikrev by submission.

Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) and ACA

Alexander also fought in Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB), which later became Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA).

He had many exciting fights in these promotions. In 2018, he knocked out Herdeson Batista. In 2019, he knocked out Aurel Pirtea.

In September 2020, Alexander fought for the ACA Lightweight Championship. He lost to the champion Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov by decision. He also broke his arm during this tough fight.

After recovering, Alexander returned to fighting. He won against Artem Damkovskiy by rear-naked choke in February 2021. He also won a close fight against Rashid Magomedov in September 2021.

In May 2022, he fought Herdeson Batista again and won by TKO very quickly in the first round.

Recent Fights

Most recently, Alexander Sarnavskiy fought Magomed Sulumov on February 23, 2024. This was for the AMC Lightweight Championship. Even though he was hurt early in the fight, Alexander came back strong. He won the fight and the championship by rear-naked choke in the third round.

On October 18, 2024, he fought Akhmed Aliev for the AMC Lightweight Championship again. He lost this fight by decision.

His most recent fight was on February 21, 2025, against Adriano Martins. Alexander won this fight by unanimous decision.

Achievements and Awards

• M-1 Global
  • М-1 Selection Eastern Europe Championship 2010.
• Bellator Fighting Championships
  • Bellator Season 9 Lightweight Tournament Runner-up

Mixed martial arts record

See also

• List of male mixed martial artists
• List of current Bellator fighters