Alexandr Shabliy

Alexandr Shabliy (born April 18, 1993) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA.

Background
Alexander was born in the city of Rostov-on-Don to a Russian father and Dargin mother, Shabliy practices Eastern Orthodoxy. With his grandfather being a Cossack, he incorporates into his post-fight speeches by the way of his headgear. In parallel with going to first grade, his parents enrolled him in the Shotokan karate section, where the guy went three times a week. He achieved good results in sports, and graduated from school with good marks.

A key role in the development of Sasha as a fighter was played by his coach, Belousov Nikolai Pavlovich, who directed his student in the right direction and introduced him to mixed martial arts, which was encouraged by his father. Despite the fact that the house of the Shabliyev family burned down and they were forced to move to a hostel, Vasily found an opportunity to reward his son for the victory with a small amount of money.

Over time, along with his friend, Alexander switched to boxing, then to Thai boxing, and after that - combat sambo and hand-to-hand combat.

Early career
But, by the time he came of age, he was first invited to the ProFC event, where he made his lightweight debut as a professional MMA fighter. But, in parallel with this career, he managed to take care of his personal life, education and a good position.

The first 4 fights under the auspices of the domestic promotion, which Shabliy completed quite quickly, finishing his opponents with three submissions and one technical knockout. But in October 2011, he suffered his first loss to Mamour Fall, although the fight was very close and he lost by split decision. After, the athlete tried himself in the Oplot Challenge, but eventually returned to ProFC, starting to smash both foreign and Russian fighters there.

Arsen Ubaidulaev became the second opponent to defeat him, submitting Shabliy with a rear-naked choke. However, Alexander rematched Arsen and knocked him out with a flying knee in the first round. Then, the prospect racked up victories after victories, and entered such leagues as ACB and Fight Nights Global. There he had a chance to meet with more serious opposition, but only Eduard Vartanyan managed to stop the representative of the Peresvet team, beating him by the way of split decision.

Having scored a solid record in Russia, Shabliy decided to temporarily move to the United States in order to gain experience from Western colleagues, and to try to sign with a Western promotion. When the arrival to the States took place, the athlete was accepted into the American Top Team, where he trained for 4 months, but he did not succeed in becoming part of a major promotion. As the pandemic hit, Alexander had to return to his homeland.

However, after a short period of time, his manager went to Bellator, and after fruitful negotiations, the parties managed to come to a common denominator.

Bellator MMA
In February 2021, it was announced that Shabliy had signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA.

He made his promotional debut on May 21, 2021, at Bellator 259, defeating Alfie Davis, a Briton with 4 win streak, via unanimous decision.

In his sophomore performance, Shabliy faced Bobby King on December 3, 2021, at Bellator 279, defeating his opponent via unanimous decision.

Shabliy faced former Lightweight champion Brent Primus at Bellator 282 on June 24, 2022. He picked up his first stoppage in the promotion, winning the bout via TKO in the second round.

Lightweight Grand Prix
On January 11, 2023, Shabliy was announced as one of the 8 participants in the $1 million Lightweight Grand Prix, with his quarterfinal bout against Tofiq Musayev taking place on March 10, 2023, at Bellator 292. Shabliy won the bout in the third round, finishing Musayev with a body kick that rendered him unable to continue.

In the semifinals, Shabliy faced former Lightweight champion Patricky Pitbull on November 17, 2023, at Bellator 301. In dominant fashion, Shabliy beat Patricky via unanimous decision, gathering all 50-45 scorecards from the judges.

Shabliy was scheduled to face Usman Nurmagomedov on May 17, 2024, at Bellator Champions Series 2. However, Nurmagomedov withdrew due to injury and the bout was scrapped. The bout has since been rescheduled to take place on September 7, 2024 at Bellator Champions Series 4.

Personal life
The athlete is married to a girl named Maria, whom they married when he was 20 years old, and the couple has two sons - Timur and Dima. In addition, along with the career of a deputy, Shabliy became the director of the very ProFC league in which he began his fighting path. Shabliy studied at the Russian State University of Justice, where he study a degree of law, which he uses as a deputy of the Rostov City Duma.