Alexander Romanov (fighter)
Alexandr Romanov | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Comrat, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union | December 11, 1990||||||||||||||
Other names | King Kong | ||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight | 265 lb (120 kg; 18 st 13 lb) | ||||||||||||||
Division | Heavyweight | ||||||||||||||
Reach | 75 in (191 cm)[1] | ||||||||||||||
Style | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||
Fighting out of | Comrat, Moldova | ||||||||||||||
Team | Lion Club | ||||||||||||||
Wrestling | Olympic Freestyle Wrestling | ||||||||||||||
Years active | 2016–present (MMA) 2007–present (freestyle wrestling) | ||||||||||||||
Mixed martial arts record | |||||||||||||||
Total | 20 | ||||||||||||||
Wins | 17 | ||||||||||||||
By knockout | 6 | ||||||||||||||
By submission | 9 | ||||||||||||||
By decision | 2 | ||||||||||||||
Losses | 3 | ||||||||||||||
By knockout | 1 | ||||||||||||||
By submission | 1 | ||||||||||||||
By decision | 1 | ||||||||||||||
University | Comrat State University | ||||||||||||||
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Alexandr Romanov (born December 11, 1990) is a Moldovan professional mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of August 20, 2024, he is #12 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.[2]
Wrestling career
[edit]Romanov started training in freestyle wrestling at age seven. He has made four Moldovan World Teams (two as a senior and two as a junior) and eight European Teams (five as a senior, three as an age-group wrestler). His best result has been a bronze medal at the 2016 World University Championships. His last performance to date took place at the 2020 European Wrestling Championships, where he placed twelfth.[3] He is also a two-time UWW grappling European bronze medalist.[4]
Romanov studied at law faculty of Comrat State University and pedagogical faculty of Chișinău Sport Institute.[4]
Alexandr Romanov also competed in sumo for a brief time. While his time in the sport was not long, he won silver in the OPEN European Cup in 2016.[5]
Mixed martial arts career
[edit]Early career
[edit]Early in his career after his stint in wrestling, Romanov found Chelsea Edward, a Muay Thai coach. Edward brought Romanov into the sport of MMA and remains his coach to this day.[5]
Romanov compiled a record of 11 wins and no losses while competing in his native Moldova, primarily at Eagles Fighting Championship, where he became the heavyweight champion.[6]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
[edit]Romanov signed with the UFC on October 3, 2019, and was later scheduled to make his debut against Raphael Pessoa on April 25, 2020.[7] However, the event was subsequently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]
Romanov was then slated to face Marcin Tybura on July 12, 2020, at UFC 251. However, Romanov was removed from the card on July 1, due to a positive COVID-19 test.[9] He was then scheduled to face Marcos Rogério de Lima on September 5, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Sakai, but the bout was scratched the day of the event when Lima tested positive for COVID-19.[10]
Romanov eventually made his debut on September 12, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill, when he defeated Roque Martinez via arm-triangle choke in the second round.[11]
Next, he faced Marcos Rogério de Lima on November 7, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira. He defeated Lima with the first forearm choke in UFC history, on the first round, to claim Performance of the Night honors.[12]
Romanov faced Juan Espino on April 17, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum.[13] During the beginning of the third round, Espino accidentally connected with a knee to the groin of Romanov, who could not continue. Romanov was declared the winner via technical split decision.[14] 6 out of 8 media scores gave it to Espino, with the other two declaring it a Draw.[15]
Romanov faced Jared Vanderaa on October 9, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez.[16] He won the fight via technical knockout in round two.[17]
Romanov was next expected to face Ilir Latifi at UFC Fight Night 202 on February 19, 2022.[18] However, the bout was cancelled for undisclosed reasons.[19]
Replacing Rodrigo Nascimento, Romanov is scheduled to face Tanner Boser on April 23, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 205.[20] However, on April 18, it was announced that Boser was out of the fight due to an injury.[21] He was replaced by Chase Sherman.[22] However, Sherman was deemed unable to compete due to a minor health issue on the day of the event and the fight was cancelled[23] and the pair was rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 35.[23] Romanov won the bout via keylock submission in the first round.[24]
Romanov faced Marcin Tybura on August 20, 2022, at UFC 278.[25] Romanov lost the fight via a controversial majority decision.[26] 17 of 18 MMA media outlets scored the bout as a draw.[27]
Romanov faced Alexander Volkov on March 11, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 221.[28] He lost the fight via technical knockout in the first round.[29]
Romanov faced Blagoy Ivanov at UFC on ESPN 48 on 1 July 2023.[30] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[31]
Romanov faced Jailton Almeida on June 1, 2024, at UFC 302.[32] He lost in the first round via rear-naked choke in his first submission loss.[33]
Romanov was originally scheduled to face former UFC Heavyweight Championship challenger Derrick Lewis on November 2, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 246.[34] However, opponents were changed and Romanov will instead face Rodrigo Nascimento.[35]
Professional grappling career
[edit]Romanov competed against Chris Daukaus at Fury Pro Grappling 8 on December 30, 2023.[36] Romanov won the match by decision.[37]
Romanov faced Roosevelt Sousa at Pit Submission Series 7 on July 25, 2024.[38] He lost the match by submission.[39]
Personal life
[edit]Romanov was born to a Russian father and Ukrainian mother and raised in Moldova.[40] He and his wife have three children.[41]
Championships and accomplishments
[edit]Mixed martial arts
[edit]- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Marcos Rogério de Lima[12]
- Eagles Fighting Championship
- Eagles FC Heavyweight Championship (One time)
Mixed martial arts record
[edit]20 matches | 17 wins | 3 losses |
By knockout | 6 | 1 |
By submission | 9 | 1 |
By decision | 2 | 1 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 17–3 | Jailton Almeida | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 302 | June 1, 2024 | 1 | 2:27 | Newark, New Jersey, United States | |
Win | 17–2 | Blagoy Ivanov | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Strickland vs. Magomedov | July 1, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Loss | 16–2 | Alexander Volkov | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili | March 11, 2023 | 1 | 2:16 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Loss | 16–1 | Marcin Tybura | Decision (majority) | UFC 278 | August 20, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States | |
Win | 16–0 | Chase Sherman | Submission (keylock) | UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Vera | April 30, 2022 | 1 | 2:11 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 15–0 | Jared Vanderaa | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez | October 9, 2021 | 2 | 4:43 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 14–0 | Juan Espino | Technical Decision (split) | UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum | April 17, 2021 | 3 | 1:05 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Accidental knee to the groin rendered Romanov unable to continue. |
Win | 13–0 | Marcos Rogério de Lima | Technical Submission (forearm choke) | UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira | November 7, 2020 | 1 | 4:48 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
Win | 12–0 | Roque Martinez | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill | September 12, 2020 | 2 | 4:22 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 11–0 | Sérgio Freitas | TKO (submission to injury) | Eagles FC 11 | February 16, 2019 | 1 | 2:28 | Chișinău, Moldova | |
Win | 10–0 | Sultan Murtazaliev | TKO (punches) | Eagles FC 10 | November 3, 2018 | 3 | 2:17 | Chișinău, Moldova | |
Win | 9–0 | Virgil Zwicker | Submission (neck crank) | S-70: Plotforma Cup 2018 | August 22, 2018 | 1 | 1:15 | Sochi, Russia | |
Win | 8–0 | Ion Grigore | Submission (forearm choke) | Eagles FC 9 | May 26, 2018 | 1 | 3:54 | Chișinău, Moldova | Openweight bout. |
Win | 7–0 | Alexander Stolyarov | TKO (punches) | Eagles FC 8 | February 10, 2018 | 1 | 0:36 | Chișinău, Moldova | Won the EFC Heavyweight Championship. |
Win | 6–0 | Ravshankhon Khusanov | TKO (punches) | Eagles FC 7 | November 4, 2017 | 1 | 1:37 | Chișinău, Moldova | |
Win | 5–0 | Yuri Gorbenko | Submission (forearm choke) | Eagles FC 6 | June 24, 2017 | 1 | 3:43 | Chișinău, Moldova | |
Win | 4–0 | Evgeniy Golub | TKO (punches) | Eagles FC 5 | May 20, 2017 | 1 | 0:48 | Chișinău, Moldova | |
Win | 3–0 | Shota Betlemidze | Submission (rear-naked choke) | ProFC Ukraine: Brave Hearts | April 8, 2017 | 1 | 4:56 | Nikolaev, Ukraine | |
Win | 2–0 | Andrey Burdiniuk | Submission (neck crank) | Eagles FC 4 | February 18, 2017 | 3 | 0:43 | Chișinău, Moldova | |
Win | 1–0 | Yuriy Protsenko | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Eagles FC 3 | November 19, 2016 | 1 | 0:50 | Chișinău, Moldova | Heavyweight debut. |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Stats - UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
- ^ "UFC Rankings, Division Rankings, P4P rankings, UFC Champions | UFC.com". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
- ^ "Romanov, Alexandr (MDA)". United World Wrestling. Archived from the original on 2021-05-13.
- ^ a b "Alexandr Romanov - UFC". www.ufc.com. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
- ^ a b Blaine Henry (April 29, 2022). "Alexandr Romanov: "Without losses or moments of weakness, there are no victories"". Fight-Library.com.
- ^ Bitter, Shawn (2019-10-03). "UFC Signs Heavyweight Alexander "King Kong" Romanov". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
- ^ Lee, Alexander K. (2020-02-25). "Alan Patrick vs. Christos Giagos, Raphael Pessoa vs. Alexander Romanov added to UFC Lincoln". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
- ^ Marrocco, Steven (2020-04-20). "UFC officially updates status on four events due to coronavirus pandemic". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
- ^ "Gym: Alexander Romanov was removed from UFC 251 due to positive COVID-19 tests". MMA Junkie. 2020-07-09. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
- ^ "UFC on ESPN+ 34 at seven fights after Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Alexander Romanov scratched". MMA Junkie. 2020-09-05. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
- ^ Doherty, Dan (2020-09-12). "UFC Vegas 10 Results: Alexander Romanov Runs Through Roque Martinez". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
- ^ a b Doherty, Dan (2020-11-07). "UFC Vegas 13 Results: Alexander Romanov Hits First Forearm Choke in UFC History". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
- ^ DNA, MMA (2021-04-03). "Juan Espino en Alexandr Romanov treffen elkaar op 17 april". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-04-03.
- ^ Behunin, Alex (April 17, 2021). "UFC Vegas 24 Results: Low Blow Sends Alexander Romanov vs. Juan Espino to Scorecards Early". Cageside. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ^ "Alexander Romanov def. Juan Espino :: UFC on ESPN 22 :: MMA Decisions". mmadecisions.com. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
- ^ Dorff, Marcel (2021-07-09). "Alexandr Romanov vs. Jared Vanderaa toegevoegd aan UFC evenement op 9 oktober". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ Behunin, Alex (2021-10-09). "UFC Vegas 39 Results: Alexander Romanov Pounds Out Jared Vanderaa". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- ^ Anderson, Jay. "UFC: Ilir Latifi vs. Alexander Romanov Announced for February 19". Cageside Press. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
- ^ Anderson, Jay (2022-02-04). "With Romanov Fight Off, Ilir Latifi Gets Aleksei Oleinik at UFC Columbus". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
- ^ Marcel Dorff (2022-03-22). "UFC Vegas 52 Romanov fills in for Nascimento against Boser". Eurosport (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-03-23.
- ^ Lee, Alexander K. (2022-04-18). "Tanner Boser out of Alexander Romanov fight at UFC Vegas 52". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
- ^ Damon Martin (2022-04-19). "With Tanner Boser out, Alexandr Romanov now faces Chase Sherman at UFC Vegas 52". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
- ^ a b Mike Heck (2022-04-23). "Chase Sherman late scratch from UFC Vegas 52 bout with Alexandr Romanov". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- ^ Behunin, Alex (2022-04-30). "UFC Vegas 53: Alexander Romanov Smashes, Submits Chase Sherman Early". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
- ^ Critchfield, Tristen. "Alexander Romanov vs. Marcin Tybura among multiple bouts confirmed for UFC 278". Sherdog. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
- ^ Anderson, Jay. "UFC 278: Marcin Tybura Rallies Back to Win Majority Decision Against Alexander Romanov". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ "MMADecisions.com". MMADecisions.com. 2022-08-20. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
- ^ ATSteveDuncan (2023-01-24). "Alexander Volkov vs. Alexander Romanov agregado a UFC Vegas 71". MMA.uno, #1 En noticias de Artes Marciales Mixtas (MMA) en Español. (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2023-01-24. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
- ^ Val Dewar (2023-03-11). "UFC Las Vegas: Alexander Volkov melts Alexandr Romanov in first round". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
- ^ Nolan King; Farah Hannoun (June 1, 2023). "UFC heavyweights Blagoy Ivanov, Alexandr Romanov set to collide July 1". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ Theodosi, Jamie (2023-07-01). "UFC Vegas 76: Alexandr Romanov Returns to Win Column With Dominant Display Over Blagoy Ivanov". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "Jailton Almeida vs. Alexander Romanov Booked for UFC 302 on June 1". Sherdog. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
- ^ Dewar, Val (2024-06-02). "UFC 302: Jailton Almeida Proves He Belongs in Top 10, Runs Through Alexander Romanov". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ Nolan King (2024-08-15). "Derrick Lewis added to UFC Edmonton vs. Alexandr Romanov". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
- ^ Nolan King and Farah Hannoun (2024-08-20). "UFC splits Edmonton co-main event: Derrick Lewis, Alexandr Romanov get new opponents". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
- ^ Lindsey, Alex. "Fury Pro Grappling 8 Lineup Stars Top MMA Fighters And BJJ Black Belts". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Fury Pro Grappling 8 Full Results And Review". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ Jones, Phil. "BJJ And MMA Stars Mix On Pit Submission Series 7 Card". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ "Pit Submission Series 7 Full Results And Review". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ "«Я русский, но не россиянин». Александр Романов — новый тяж в UFC - 3 марта 2020 - Sport24". sport24.ru.
- ^ Drake Riggs (January 31, 2021). Alexandr Romanov wants top 10 opponent next, sees title contention with three more wins – via YouTube.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "Alexandr Romanov". Sherdog. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
External links
[edit]- 1990 births
- Living people
- Moldovan male mixed martial artists
- Moldovan people of Russian descent
- Moldovan people of Ukrainian descent
- Heavyweight mixed martial artists
- Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling
- Mixed martial artists utilizing Sumo
- Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters
- Moldovan male sport wrestlers
- Wrestlers at the 2015 European Games
- 21st-century Moldovan people