Alexander Sarnavskiy

Alexander Sarnavskiy (, born January 17, 1989) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Sarnavskiy has mostly competed in his native Russia, where he is an M-1 Global veteran and former lightweight division in the Bellator Fighting Championships.

Mixed martial arts career

Background Alexander Sarnavsky was born in 1989 in the village. Gorky (Kazakhstan). In 1998 he moved with his family to Omsk, where his sports career began. The first discipline was kickboxing, which the young man mastered for 2 years at the Lokomotiv club and achieved success in regional competitions. Later, he was attracted by pankration and Alexander switched to hand-to-hand combat and combat sambo at the Saturn-Profi martial arts school. Hobbies grew into a professional approach at the age of 18, when Sarnavsky decided to try his hand at mixed martial arts. He was led to this step by the example of a coach, Alexander Shlemenko.

M-1 Global After compiling a record of 8–0 (3 submission, 4 KO/TKOs), Sarnavskiy joined M-1 Global to enter their selection tournament. His opening round fight was against Maxim Kuptsov. Midway through the first round, Sarnavskiy caught his opponent in a body triangle and peppered him with punches from behind. He soon went for a rear naked choke, which forced the tapout from Kuptsov.

Sarnavskiy then faced Karen Grigoryan in the next round, defeating him by split decision, advancing him to the final.

Following the win over Grigoryan, Sherdog ranked him as the number one undefeated European prospect in the sport. Around the same time, Sarnavskiy was scheduled to face Artiom Damkovsky at the M-1 Eastern European Finals. The bout was cancelled however and Damkovsky faced a replacement opponent in the final.

Appearing at M-1 Challenge XXI: Guram vs. Garner, Sarnavskiy faced Victor Kuku. Immediately, Sarnavskiy went after Kuku and went for a flying knee. Sarnavskiy's spinning back fist knocked Kuku down, before he hit Kuku with a barrage of punches to claim the knockout win.

Sarnavskiy made his U.S. MMA debut in Norfolk, Virginia on March 25, 2011, on the televised portion of M-1 Challenge: Damkovsky vs. Figueroa. He faced late replacement Beau Baker and won the fight via submission in the second round.

Bellator MMA On June 19, 2012, Sarnavskiy signed with Bellator, thus terminating the contract with M-1 Global.

Sarnavskiy entered as a participant in the Bellator season seven lightweight tournament. In the opening round, he faced Rich Clementi on October 19, 2012, at Bellator 77. He lost the fight via split decision (29–28, 28–29, 30–26).

Sarnavskiy defeated Tony Hervey on November 30, 2012, at Bellator 82 via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).

In 2013, Sarnavskiy entered as a participant in the Bellator Season 8 Lightweight tournament. He faced Brazilian Kickboxer Thiago Michel in the quarter-finals on January 31, 2013, at Bellator 87 and won via submission in the second round.

Sarnavskiy was originally scheduled to face David Rickels in the semifinals. However, Sarnavskiy fractured his hand during his first fight and had to withdraw from the tournament.

In the fall of 2013, Sarnavskiy entered the next Lightweight tournament. He faced Marcus Davis on September 27, 2013, at Bellator 101 in the quarterfinals of Bellator's Season Nine Lightweight Tournament. After knocking Davis down with a punch, he took his back and eventually won via a rear naked choke submission.

Sarnavskiy faced Ricardo Tirloni in the semifinals and won via triangle choke in the first round.

Sarnavskiy faced Will Brooks in the finals and lost via unanimous decision.

After nearly a year away from the Bellator cage, Sarnavskiy was expected to face John Gunderson on October 10, 2014, at Bellator 128. However, Gunderson withdrew from the bout and retired from MMA fighting. Derek Campos stepped in as a replacement. An injury forced Campos out of the fight, Sarnavskiy eventually faced promotional newcomer Dakota Cochrane. He won the fight by submission in the first round.

Sarnavskiy faced Marcin Held on April 10, 2015, at Bellator 136. He lost the fight via verbal submission in the third round and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Post-Bellator MMA Sarnavskiy faced Jesse Ronson on October 3, 2015, at Abu Dhabi Warriors 3. He won via unanimous decision.

Eurasia Fight Nights Global (EFN) Sarnavskiy faced Murad Machaev on February 26, 2016, at Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 21. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Sarnavskiy faced Dmitry Bikrev on April 29, 2016, at Fight Nights Global 46. He won the fight via submission in the second round.

Absolute Championship Berkut Sarnavskiy faced Ustarmagomed Gadzhidaudov on September 17, 2016, at ACB 45: Silva vs. Magomedsharipov. He lost the fight by knockout in the second round.

Sarnavskiy faced Ramazan Esenbaev on December 18, 2016, at ACB 50: Rasulov vs. Goltsov. He won thefight via TKO in the third round.

Sarnavskiy faced Eduard Vartanyan on April 15, 2017, at ACB 57: Payback. He lost the fight via submission in the second round.

Sarnavskiy faced Shamil Nikaev at ACB 80 on February 16, 2018. He lost the bout via split decision.

Bouncing back from the loss, Sarnavskiy knocked out Herdeson Batista on November 10, 2018, at ACB 90.

Sarnavskiy faced Aurel Pirtea on December 14, 2019, at ACA 103. He won the bout, knocking out Aurel in the third round.

In the title fight at ACA 111 on September 29, 2020, for the ACA Lightweight Championship, he lost to the champion Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov by unanimous decision, breaking his arm during the bout.

In his first bout post recovery and title bout loss, Sarnavskiy faced Artem Damkovskiy at ACA 118 on February 26, 2021. He won the bout via rear-naked choke at the end of the first round.

Sarnavskiy faced Rashid Magomedov on September 24, 2021, at ACA 129: Sarnavskiy vs. Magomedov. He won the close bout via split decision.

Sarnavskiy faced Herdeson Batista on May 21, 2022, at ACA 139. He won the bout via TKO stoppage under a minute into the bout.

Post ACA Sarnavskiy faced Magomed Sulumov on February 23, 2024, at AMC Fight Nights 123 for the AMC Lightweight Championship, despite being hurt in the first round, Sarnavskiy came back to win the title and the bout via rear-naked choke in the third round.

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

Mixed martial arts record Win

Dmitry Bikrev Submission (rear-naked choke) BetCity Fight Nights 132

Moscow, Russia Win

Akhmed Aliev Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) BetCity Fight Nights 128

Nevinnomyssk, Russia Win

Adriano Martins Decision (unanimous) BetCity Fight Nights 126

Sochi, Russia Loss

Akhmed Aliev Decision (unanimous) AMC Fight Nights 125

Sochi, Russia Win

Magomed Sulumov Submission (rear-naked choke) AMC Fight Nights 123

Moscow, Russia Win

Herdeson Batista TKO (punches) ACA 139

Moscow, Russia Win

Rashid Magomedov Decision (split) ACA 129

Moscow, Russia Win

Artem Damkovskiy Submission (rear-naked choke) ACA 118

Moscow, Russia Loss

Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov Decision (unanimous) ACA 111

Moscow, Russia Win

Aurel Pirtea KO (punch) |ACA 103

Saint Petersburg, Russia Win

Herdeson Batista KO (knee) |ACB 90

Moscow, Russia Loss

Shamil Nikaev Decision (split) |ACB 80

Krasnodar, Russia Loss

Eduard Vartanyan Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) ACB 57

Moscow, Russia Win

Ramazan Esenbaev TKO (corner stoppage) |ACB 50

Saint Petersburg, Russia Loss

Ustarmagomed Gadzhidaudov KO (punch) |ACB 45

Saint Petersburg, Russia Win

Jorge Patino Decision (unanimous) Abu Dhabi Warriors 4

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Win

Dmitry Bikrev Submission (rear-naked choke) Fight Nights Global 46

Moscow, Russia Loss

Murad Machaev Decision (unanimous) Fight Nights Global 44

Moscow, Russia Win

Leandro Rodrigues Pontes KO (punch) FEFoMP: International Tournament in Pankration

Vladivostok, Russia Win

Jesse Ronson Decision (unanimous) Abu Dhabi Warriors 3

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Loss

Marcin Held Submission (kneebar) Bellator 136

Irvine, California, United States Win

Artak Nazaryan KO (flying knee) Union of Veterans: Cup of Friendship 2014

Novosibirsk, Russia Win

Dakota Cochrane Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator 128

Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States Win

Drew Brokenshire Submission (rear-naked choke) S-70: Plotforma Cup 2014

Sochi, Russia Win

Yukinari Tamura Submission (rear-naked choke) Ural Fight League: Resurrection

Yekaterinburg, Russia Win

Alexander Butenko Decision (unanimous) Union of Veterans: Cup of Champions 2013

Novosibirsk, Russia Loss

Will Brooks Decision (unanimous) Bellator 109

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States Win

Ricardo Tirloni Submission (triangle choke) Bellator 105

Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States Win

Marcus Davis Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator 101

Portland, Oregon, United States Win

Atchin Chaoshen Ne Submission (armbar) FEFoMP: Mayor Cup 2013

Khabarovsk, Russia Win

Thiago Michel Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator 87

Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States Win

Tony Hervey Decision (unanimous) Bellator 82

Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States Loss

Rich Clementi Decision (split) Bellator 77

Reading, Pennsylvania, United States Win

Maykel Becerra KO (knee) FEFoMP: Mayor Cup 2012

Khabarovsk, Russia Win

Len Bentley Submission (triangle choke) Vladimir Zborovskiy Memorial 2012

Omsk, Russia Win

Sergio Cortez Submission (rear-naked choke) M-1 Challenge 30

Costa Mesa, California, United States Win

Thomáš Deák Decision (unanimous) Union of Veterans: Cup of Champions 2011

Novosibirsk, Russia Win

Marcio Cesar Submission (rear-naked choke) League S-70: Russia vs. Brazil

Sochi, Russia Win

Doug Evans Submission (triangle choke) FEFoMP: Mayor's Cup 2011

Khabarovsk, Russia Win

Beau Baker Submission (rear-naked choke) M-1 Challenge 24

Norfolk, Virginia, United States Win

Arsen Ubaidulaev Submission (rear-naked choke) M-1 Challenge 22

Moscow, Russia Win

Victor Kuku TKO (spinning back fist and punches) M-1 Challenge 21

Saint Petersburg, Russia Win

Aleksey Ershik Submission (rear-naked choke) FEFoMP: Cup of Vladivostok 2010

Vladivostok, Russia Win

Karen Grigoryan Decision (split) M-1 Selection 2010: Eastern Europe Round 3

Kyiv, Ukraine Win

Maxim Kuptsov Submission (rear-naked choke) M-1 Selection 2010: Eastern Europe Round 1

Saint Petersburg, Russia Win

Mamour Fall Submission (triangle choke)

Win

Timur Daurenuly KO (punches)

Win

Maratbek Kalabekov Decision (split) ProFC: Union Nation Cup 4

Rostov-on-Don, Russia Win

Vladimir Simonyan KO (punches) ProFC: Union Nation Cup 3

Rostov-on-Don, Russia Win

Kardash Fatakhov TKO (punches)

Win

Islam Mamedov KO (punches)

Win

Andrei Koshkin Submission (triangle choke) Siberian League: New Hopes

Novokuznetsk, Russia Win

Rishat Gilmitdinov Submission (triangle choke) Universal Fighter

Ufa, Russia