Shamil “The Cobra” Gasanov

Shamil Gasanov has all the skills needed to become an MMA World Champion, and that’s exactly what he’s hoping to achieve in ONE Championship. 

The Russian rising star is a prodigious talent with a solid all-around repertoire. However, the discipline that kicked off his martial arts voyage in Dagestan – like most of his compatriots – is freestyle wrestling.

Gasanov was introduced to the combat sport during his adolescence and has never looked back. His unswerving commitment eventually led him to other disciplines and greater heights. “The Cobra,” as he is called, garnered a trio of pankration titles in Russia and soon thereafter, he became a two-time European Grappling Champion and World Grappling Champion.

The Dagestani was still keen to build upon his star, however, and that hunger for more eventually led him to MMA.

In 2014, he officially launched his professional MMA career. Representing the Peresvet Fight Team in Rostov-on-Don, “The Cobra” had a flawless start and decimated the competition. He went 12-0 on the regional scene, earned an 83 percent finishing rate, and capped off his undefeated run with the ProFC Featherweight Title.

That jaw-dropping success led him to the global stage of ONE Championship and its stacked featherweight division. Gasanov impressed in his first promotional appearance, submitting formerly top-ranked featherweight contender “The Fighting God” Kim Jae Woong in the first round of their October 2022 clash to break into the divisional rankings.

Now with a chance to defeat #2-ranked contender and former ONE World Title challenger Garry Tonon at ONE Fight Night 12, Gasanov can ascend even higher. In fact, he could even win a championship opportunity of his own.