Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov is a retired Russian mixed martial artist and actor. He is a practitioner of Sambo and Judo and has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships. Taktarov was the UFC 6 tournament champion and holds notable wins over Marco Ruas and David "Tank" Abbott. Taktarov is known for being exceptionally calm during fights and for using a variety of rarely seen, acrobatic Sambo take-downs. All of Taktarov's losses were by knockout or decision, Taktarov was never submitted in an MMA fight. Taktarov was born in the closed city Arzamas-16 ,... USSR, before his family moved to Gorky, an industrial centre of Russia. Oleg’s father, a construction worker, wanted his son to become involved in sport, and so took him to a gymnasium at the nearby city of Sarov, with the intention of enrolling Oleg in ice hockey or weightlifting. But the twelve-year-old Taktarov had other ideas after observing athletes practicing judo.
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| Birthdate: | August 26, 1967 |
| Birthplace: | Sarov |
| Age: | 44 |
| Height: | 6' 0" |
| Education: | Playhouse west |
| Also known as: | Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov, The Russian Bear, Oleg 'Russian Bear' Taktarov |