Who is Alexander Yakovlev: 15 Facts About the Man who takes on Damien Maia on Saturday

Who is Alexander Yakovlev: 15 Facts About the Man who takes on Damien Maia on Saturday
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Professional MMA Career

On Saturday Night Russian Welterweight Alexander Yakovlev will take on legendary grappler Damien Maia, a former Middleweight title challenger turned top 10 welterweight. So who is Alexander Yakovlev, we have put together xx facts about the man who will take on the ADCC champion in his native Brazil. 

Yakovlev was initially expected to make his UFC debut against Yan Cabral on May 10, 2014 at UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva. However, on April 9, Yakovlev was moved to the The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale card as a replacement for injured Mike Pierce against Demian Maia.

Yakovlev defeated British slugger Paul 'Semtex' Daley in his last outing to earn his contract with the UFC. The bout took place this past November at Legend 2 in Russia.

Yakovlev's fight with Damien Maia will be his first professional bout outside of Russia with his previous 26 professional bouts all taking place in his homeland.

Yakovlev has only lost once in 5 years. That loss came to current UFC fighter Rashid Magomedov under the M-1 banner.

Yakovlev has finishes 16 of his 21 victories - 8 by submission, 8 by TKO / KO

Championships and Accomplishments

Alexander recently took gold at in the Mens NO-GI Expert Cruiser Weight division at the 2014 NAGA World Championships.

Yakovlev can also count medals at the Russian Freestyle Wrestling Championships, Russian Hand-to-hand combat Championships, and Russian Sambo Championship amongst his accomplishments.

Yakovlev won the 2013 Russian national Hand-to-Hand-Combat champion. He beat Alexei Nazarov, Andrey Koreshkov and Alexander Stetsurenko.

Alexander fought for the M-1 Global Welterweight Championship losing to Rashid Magomedov.

Personal Life

Alexander Yakovlev's nickname is 'badboy'.

Yakovlev grow up in one of Russia's oldest Cities, Veliky Novgorod.

Yakovlev dreamed of being an Olympic wrestler as a child but feel in love with MMA after seeing country Oleg Taktarov beat Tank Abbott at UFC 6.

Alexander Yakovlev graduated from university in 2007 with the rank of the Lieutenant of Criminal Justice. He worked in the Department of Internal Affairs before turning pro.

The Russian has recorded a rap song in his native tongue entitled 'Money Power'. The music video for the song opens with a scene from the movie Scarface and show Yakovlev hitting punching bags throughout the video. You can watch the video on Youtube here.

Interview: Chris Camozzi: “I’m excited to get a top 10 opponent. Its something I have been asking for."

Kingdom MMA talks to Chris Camozzi ahead of UFC on FX 8

By Chris Houten - @kingdomMMAChris 

On the 3^rd of May less, than 3 weeks away from UFC on FX8 from the Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil, The UFC announced that Costa Philippou who was taking on Jacare Souza in the co-main event was injured and had been pulled from the card – Step up, step up Chris Camozzi :

“I was training at the gym and after practice I walked off the mat and saw I had a ton of missed calls from my management, Ingrained Media. Jason told me Joe Silva called and asked if I would be willing to step in.”

Stepping up is something Camozzi has become accustomed to in recent week as the bout with Souza will be Camozzi’s third schedule opponent in just under a month: first Ferreira, then Natal, and now top 10 ranked Middleweight Souza, but Camozzi’s not complaining:

“I’m very excited to get a top ten opponent. Its something I have been asking for. I’m young and making my way up the ranks. I feel like I’m ready for that next step.” Camozzi said.

6-2 in the UFC and currently riding a 4 fight win streak going in the bout on Saturday, former TUF contestant Camozzi has put together some impressive wins of late however Souza who will be fighting in his native Brazil, is undoubtedly the biggest fight in Camozzi’s 24 fight career, but a fight which Camozzi is ready for:

“Every UFC fight is the biggest of my career. Im honored to fight the BJJ legend in his country.”

“My Training camp has been great. We have been working more on me, rather than what my opponent will do. There is always work to be done when it comes to getting better as a fighter.”

A former Strikeforce middleweight champion and 5 time World Ju-Jitsu Champion, Jacare is possibly the best ju-jitsu fighter to ever enter the octagon, however when asked about his game plan on Saturday, Camozzi was quick to mention, his evolving striking:

“I think his striking game is underrated. He has good hands and he is a great athlete. Its been a while since he fought so Im expecting his hands to have improved a lot.” Chris Said.

“[But] my training camp has been great. We have been working more on me, rather than what my opponent will do. There is always work to be done when it comes to getting better as a fighter.”

You can catch Chris Camozzi take on Jacre Souza in the co-main event at UFC on FX 8 on Saturday night live on ESPN in the UK

UFC on FX8: Belfort vs Rockhold - UK Betting Odds

UFC on FX8: Belfort vs Rockhold - UK Betting Odds

With UFC on FX8 approaching at a rapid pace, we team up with partners William Hill to bring those who fancy a little flutter the latest clear cut, betting odds - Good Luck, and don't miss out on your free £25 bet below!

Main Card
EVS Vitor Belfort vs Luke Rockhold 4/5
1/7 Ronaldo Souza vs Chris Camozzi 9/2
8/5 Evan Dunham vs Rafael dos Anjos 1/2
1/3 Rafael Natal vs Joao Zeferino 9/4

Preliminary Card
2/7 Francisco Trinaldo vs Mike Rio 5/2
11/10 Hacran Dias vs Nik Lentz 4/6
1/6 Yuri Alcantara vs Iliarde Santos 7/2
8/15 Paulo Thiago vs Michael Prazeres 11/8
2/5 Geison Tibau vs John Cholish 7/4
2/5 Fabio Maldonado vs Roger Hollett 7/4

Facebook Prelims
4/11 Lucas Martin vs Jeremy Larsen 2/1
4/6 Jussier Formiga vs Chris Cariaso 11/10
4/6 John Lineker vs Azamat Gashimov 11/10
*denotes favourite