It may be hard to believe, but there doesn't seem to have been a fighter signed from Russia since Ansar Chalangov's brief UFC stint in 2005-2006, when he fought Thiago Alves and Josh Koscheck, losing to both.

There is one exception, since Dennis Siver was born and grew up in Russia, but his career began in Germany and he's never competed in Russia or represented any Russian club. And before anyone mentions them... Andrei Arlovski and Vladimir Matyushenko are both from Belarus.

How come UFC is so cold to Russia? In previous years, one could argue that the talent wasn't there for them to sign perhaps, but it's not the case now. With M-1 and some other Russian promotions now on state television, the ranks are booming with potential major league prospects. Some of the prominent names they should look into include:


FW:   Rasul Mirzaev (5-0) - Knocked out former Sengoku Champion Masanori Kanehara

LW:   Alexander Sarnavskiy (15-0) - Submitted UFC vet Doug Evans

WW: Shamil Zavurov (18-1) - Beat Sengoku GP runner-up Yasubey Enomoto

          Andrey Koreshkov (6-0) - Only 20 years old and already crushing people

MW:  Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (15-1) - Top MW in Europe, beat UFC vet Xavier Foupa-Pokam

          Andrei Semenov (30-9-2) - Just beat Luigi Fioravanti pillar to post after a three year retirement

HW:  Vitaly Minakov (5-0) - 3x Sambo World Champion, 240lbs

What do you think? Should UFC open up the ranks and let some Reds get In The Mix(TM)? 

Videos of each fighter after the jump.

Rasul Mirzaev



Alexander Sarnavskiy



Shamil Zavurov



Andrey Koreshkov



Vyacheslav Vasilevsky



Andrei Semenov



Vitaly Minakov