Karimula Barkalaev

Background

Barkalaev was born on 23 January 1973, in the village of Tivi, Qvareli, Georgian SSR.

In 1993, Barkalaev started training in Kung Fu. He was also a silver medalist in the 1996 European Wushu Championship in Rome. Yvel was disqualified after Barkalaev's coach Volk Han noted the referee Yvel had illegally bitten his fighter He faced Dave Menne in the finals and lost by unanimous decision after referee, John McCarthy deducted a point for grabbing the cage. He defeated Carlos Lopez, Toby Imada and Igor Yakimov to reach the finals of the −88 kg division. In the finals he lost to Rodrigo Gracie on points after a 30-minute bout. He defeated Renato Verissimo, Amaury Bitetti and Egan Inoue all by points. He defeated Nino Schembri and faced Ricardo Arona in the semi-finals. The match between the two eventually became a brawl and Arona won due to points. At the time, Barkalaev was an instructor in Abu Dhabi and a representative of a local Sheikh. His action offended the Sheikh who asked for Barkalaev's arrest. After the match, Barkalaev was escorted off the mat and spent a week in prison. He was eventually released by the Sheikh and has stated he wanted to have a rematch with Arona under MMA rules. Barkalaev has not returned to the UAE since.

Personal life As of 2023, Barkalaev works as a director for Dagpotrebsoyuz which is the Consumers' Union of Dagestan.

He teaches his skills to young people and can be found at the Ali Aliyev Sport Complex which he was previously in charge of for five years.

Barkalaev graduated from business school in 2003. He was nominated by the Russian All-People's Union to stand in for the People's Assembly of the Republic of Dagestan although he dropped out after registration.

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Dave Menne Decision (unanimous)

Win

Jose Landi-Jons TKO (punches)

Win

Dersu Lerma Decision (unanimous)

Win

Martin Malkhasyan TKO (strikes)

Win

Roman Savochka KO

Win

Oleg Chemodurov TKO (strikes)

Win

Sergei Akinin TKO (submission to Punches) IAFC: Russian Championship 1999 (Day 2)

Moscow, Russia Win

Gilbert Yvel DQ (biting) IAFC: European Championship 1998

Moscow, Russia Win

Valery Pliev N/A

Win

Valery Nikulin N/A

Win

Igor Gerus N/A

Win

Joe Charles Submission (forearm choke) IAFC: Absolute Fighting Championship 2: Day 1

Moscow, Russia Submission grappling record