Russian mixed martial artist and Sanda fighter Muslim Salikhov has won the Wushu Sanda championships multiple times and competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Salikhov trained at the infamous Five Directions of the World martial arts school in his home country of Russia. The school is renowned for producing many of the world’s top combat fighters, and Salikhov is no exception. He has had an extremely successful career as a Wushu Sanda fighter, reaching the finals of the 2003 Wushu Sanda World Championships and being named Sanshou champion the following year at the European Wushu Championships. He has been named Wushu Sanda World Champion an incredible five times, also taking home a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament. Salikhov is now one of the most highly decorated Sanda fighters in history, and more recently has launched a career as a mixed martial artist. He has worked with promotions including M-1 Global and in 2017 signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he has stayed ever since. Salikhov has won five out of his six bouts with the promotion, also taking home one Performance of the Night Award during that time. He is well known as a formidable opponent, putting in a number of strong appearances and consistently performing at a high standard.

Salikhov is due to appear at the UFC Fight Night 200 at the start of 2022 and with 250k followers on his Instagram page he is now one of the most well loved fighters in the promotion.