1. Alexander Pavlovich Shlemenko is a Russian mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Middleweight division.
48 Facts About Alexander Shlemenko
1. 2.
Alexander Shlemenko is most notable for fighting for Bellator Fighting Championships, where he is the former Bellator Middleweight World Champion.
3.
At the age of 15, Alexander Shlemenko seriously started to train ARB, which is the Russian abbreviation for "army hand-to-hand combat".
4.
Alexander Shlemenko competed in many regional and national tournaments in ARB, and got to the highest sport level by reaching the title of "master of sports".
5.
Alexander Shlemenko competed in EliteXC before the company went defunct.
6.
Alexander Shlemenko won most of his fights, often by KO or TKO.
7.
The reason for this was, that Alexander Shlemenko noticed after the first round that he has broken both of his hands, but he still continued to fight.
8.
The only knockout loss of his career Alexander Shlemenko received from Jordan Radev, a Bulgarian Olympic wrestler and mixed martial artist.
9.
Alexander Shlemenko caught a heavy left hook in the second round, which knocked him out.
10.
Later, in an interview Alexander Shlemenko said that this loss made him stronger, and gave him a lot of motivation to train harder.
11.
In 2010, Alexander Shlemenko signed with Bellator and made his debut in the Season Two Middleweight Tournament at Bellator 16, defeating Matt Major via unanimous decision.
12.
Alexander Shlemenko then faced Bryan Baker in the Bellator Middleweight tournament final on 24 June 2010 at Bellator 23.
13.
Alexander Shlemenko won the fight via TKO in the first round to become the Bellator Season Two Middleweight Tournament winner.
14.
On 28 October 2010 at Bellator 34, Alexander Shlemenko faced Hector Lombard.
15.
Alexander Shlemenko was expected to face Bellator Season Eight Middleweight Tournament winner Doug Marshall on 7 September 2013 at Bellator 98.
16.
Alexander Shlemenko won the fight via knockout in the first round with a body punch, successfully defending his title for the second time.
17.
Alexander Shlemenko faced Bellator Season Nine Middleweight Tournament winner Brennan Ward at Bellator 114 on 28 March 2014.
18.
Alexander Shlemenko won via guillotine choke submission in the second round to retain the Bellator Middleweight Championship.
19.
Alexander Shlemenko lost by submission via arm-triangle choke in the first round.
20.
Alexander Shlemenko put up his Middleweight title against undefeated Brandon Halsey on 26 September 2014 at Bellator 126.
21.
Alexander Shlemenko lost the fight and the title by submission at just thirty-five seconds into the first round.
22.
Alexander Shlemenko faced former M-1 Global middleweight Champion Vyacheslav Vasilevsky on 19 February 2016 at M-1 Challenge 64.
23.
Alexander Shlemenko returned to M-1 four months later to face Vyacheslav Vasilevsky in a rematch on 16 June 2016 at M-1 Challenge 64.
24.
Alexander Shlemenko faced fellow knockout artist Melvin Manhoef in the main event at Bellator 133 on 13 February 2015.
25.
Alexander Shlemenko won the bout by knockout due to a spinning back fist in the second round.
26.
On 17 March 2015, Alexander Shlemenko was suspended indefinitely for failing a post fight drug test with elevated testosterone levels.
27.
In September 2015, Alexander Shlemenko filed a writ against the CSAC to have his three-year suspension overturned.
28.
Alexander Shlemenko faced newly signed middleweight Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 185 on 20 October 2017.
29.
Alexander Shlemenko still lost the back-and-forth fight by controversial unanimous decision.
30.
Alexander Shlemenko faced Anatoly Tokov on 13 October 2018 at Bellator 208.
31.
Alexander Shlemenko won the fight via submission in the second round.
32.
Alexander Shlemenko won the fight via technical knockout in the third round.
33.
Alexander Shlemenko faced Chris Honeycutt at Eastern Economic Forum: Roscongress Vladivostok Combat Night on 15 September 2019.
34.
Alexander Shlemenko fought David Branch at Russian Cagefighting Championship 7 on 14 December 2019.
35.
Alexander Shlemenko won via a guillotine choke submission in the first round.
36.
Alexander Shlemenko faced Marcio Santos on 7 May 2021 at AMC Fight Nights 101.
37.
On 17 October 2021, Alexander Shlemenko met with Artur Guseinov in the main fight of the EFC 42 tournament.
38.
On 3 March 2022, Alexander Shlemenko supported the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
39.
Alexander Shlemenko faced Aleksandar Ilic on 26 August 2022 at RCC 12.
40.
Alexander Shlemenko lost the bout via TKO stoppage 22 seconds into the bout, after getting caught by a knee and dropped.
41.
Alexander Shlemenko faced Cleber Sousa on 30 September 2022 at Alexander Shlemenko FC 5.
42.
Alexander Shlemenko faced Magomed Ismailov on 3 December 2022 at RCC 13, losing the bout via unanimous decision.
43.
Alexander Shlemenko faced Alex Oliveira on 21 July 2023 at Alexander Shlemenko FC 8, submitting him in the first round via guillotine choke.
44.
Alexander Shlemenko rematched Aleksandar Ilic on 15 December 2023 at RCC 17, avenging his previous loss by TKO stoppage at the end of the first round.
45.
Alexander Shlemenko faced Kazkah prospect Kuat Khamitov at RCC 19 on 11 May 2024.
46.
Alexander Shlemenko won the fight via technical knockout in the first round.
47.
Alexander Shlemenko is known for his unorthodox striking style, which is difficult to refer to as traditional Muay Thai, Kickboxing, or ARB.
48.
Alexander Shlemenko is known for his knee strikes, he often uses techniques such as the spinning backkick or spinning backfist.