"Critiquing the Cage" Who Are They: Oleg Taktarov

Oleg Taktarov is a Russian mixed martial artist, known for his style of Sambo and Judo. He competed in both the UFC and Pride fighting Championships, holding notable wins over Mark Kerr, Marco Ruas, David Abbott and many more. Taktarov has never been submitted in a MMA fight, a feat that many mixed martial artists never achieve, staying relaxed during fights and performing athletic sambo takedowns.

In April 1995, Oleg entered the UFC 5, and was coined the “Russian Bear.” Despite injuring his knee before the tournament, Taktarov competed in and won his first fight, but was defeated in the semi-finals. Holding the record for the fastest submission in UFC history against Anthony Macias, Taktarov submitted Macias in twelve seconds at UFC 6, becoming the tournament Champion.

Taktarov, being the reigning tournament champion, was set up to fight his friend and reigning UFC Champion Ken Shamrock in UFC 7 for the UFC Superfight Championship. The fight ended in a draw after an amazing performance put on by both men. In his most famous non-UFC fight, Taktarov faced Renzo Gracie in the MARS Reality Fighting event. He lost by KO, while trying to defeat Gracie by leg submission.

After temporarily retiring from mixed martial arts, Taktarov took on acting, starring in movies Bad Boys II, Air Force One, and many others. Prior to making a successful comeback to MMA in 2007, Taktarov's last bout was in 2001.