Timofey Nastyukhin

FILA Pankration Champion Timofey Nastyukhin was born in Kazakhstan, but his family was forced to move to Siberia when he was 5 years old after the fall of the Soviet Union.

He was bullied for not being “pure Russian” due to his Kazakh heritage, so at the age of 8 he decided to join the Pankration club near his house to in order to learn self defense.

Despite their dire financial situation, his parents always made sure they could afford the training for their children, as they were firm believers in the benefits of martial arts.

Nastyukhin took part in his first Pankration competition at the age of 10, and although he suffered many early setbacks, he went on to become a four-time national champion and two-time European Champion.

He inevitably pursued a career as a professional mixed martial artist, bouncing back from a debut loss to run up nine first-round wins in a row.

With several knockout and submission wins to his name, he has undoubtedly proven his elite all-round skills and built a reputation as an exciting athlete to watch.

Nastyukhin famously made headlines around the world with a 6-second blitz of Rob Lisita, tying the ONE Championship record for fastest knockout in the process.

The Russian sensation later defeated both former ONE Lightweight World Title challenger Koji Ando and top Singaporean contender Amir Khan, putting him in good stead on his quest for ONE Championship gold.

After challenging Christian Lee for his ONE Lightweight MMA World Title in 2021, Nastyukhin remains determined to get back to the top of the division.

Standing in his way next is Zhang Lipeng, who he’ll meet at ONE Fight Night 15 on Prime Video on September 29.