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Sambo is Russia’s national martial art and combat sport — and it has become one of the most important grappling disciplines in modern mixed martial arts. The same system that produced Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, Fedor Emelianenko, and generations of Dagestani champions is sambo. Understanding it is understanding a significant portion of the modern MMA grappling landscape.

What Is Sambo?

Sambo (an acronym from Russian: SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya, meaning “self-defense without weapons”) was developed in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s as a systematized combat sport and self-defense method for the Soviet military and law enforcement.

Its founders — Vasili Oschepkov and Viktor Spiridonov, with significant contributions from Anatoly Kharlampiev — studied judo, jujutsu, folk wrestling traditions from across the Soviet Union, and other martial arts to create a comprehensive system. Sambo synthesizes the throwing techniques of judo with wrestling’s takedown and mat wrestling, adding a broader submission offense (including leg locks that were not part of traditional judo) and striking elements in its combat variant.

Types of Sambo

Sport Sambo

Sport sambo is the grappling competition format, similar to judo with some key differences. Competitors wear the sambo kurtka (a short jacket similar to a judo gi) with shorts. Throws, takedowns, and submissions are all allowed. Leg lock submissions (heel hooks, kneebars, ankle locks) are legal in sambo competition and have been since the sport’s founding — a significant difference from judo and many BJJ competition rulesets.

A perfect throw (where the opponent lands flat on their back with force and control) wins the match immediately, similar to judo’s ippon. A submission also wins immediately. Otherwise, the match is decided on points accumulated through takedowns and near-throws.

Combat Sambo

Combat sambo adds striking to the sport sambo base. Competitors wear gloves, helmets, and additional protective equipment, and the ruleset allows punches, kicks, headbutts (in some rulesets), and all the grappling of sport sambo. Combat sambo is essentially a form of MMA — and many combat sambo champions have transitioned to MMA successfully because their base is already close to the full mixed martial arts format.

Sambo vs. Wrestling vs. BJJ in MMA

How does sambo compare to the other dominant grappling arts in MMA?

• vs. Wrestling — American wrestling (particularly folkstyle) produces elite takedown artists with exceptional mat wrestling and defensive scrambling. Sambo shares the takedown focus but adds judo throws and a broader submission offense (especially leg locks) that wrestling competition rarely develops. The Dagestani fighters who practice sambo often have a more submission-oriented top game than pure wrestlers.
• vs. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — BJJ’s ground game is more deeply developed than sambo’s, particularly from the guard position. However, sambo’s leg lock offense and its emphasis on staying on top and preventing opponents from establishing guard means that sambo vs. BJJ matchups often feature a clash between top pressure and bottom-based submission offense.
• Sambo’s unique edge — The combination of judo throws, wrestling takedowns, and leg locks creates a grappling system that is difficult to defend completely. A sambo fighter can threaten from standing (throws), on the way down (takedowns), and on the mat (leg locks, upper body submissions). The breadth of the attack is its advantage.

Sambo in Elite MMA

The success of sambo-based fighters at the highest level of MMA is undeniable:

• Fedor Emelianenko — Multiple World Sambo Champion who brought sambo’s ground game to MMA and was dominant for nearly a decade at heavyweight.
• Khabib Nurmagomedov — Combat Sambo World Champion who combined sambo’s grappling with Dagestani wrestling to create the most dominant ground game in lightweight history.
• Islam Makhachev — Current UFC Lightweight Champion whose sambo base has produced multiple submission finishes at the highest level of the sport.
• Khamzat Chimaev — A Swedish-Chechen wrestler with sambo training who has become one of the most physically dominant grapplers in the middleweight division.

Why Dagestan Produces Champions

The Dagestan Republic in southern Russia has produced a disproportionate number of elite MMA fighters — enough to create the phenomenon known as the “Dagestani wrestling machine.” The reasons are interrelated:

Dagestan has a centuries-old tradition of folk wrestling (kurash and other local styles) that predates sambo. The Russian government invested heavily in sambo as a national sport, and Dagestani athletes excelled in competition. The combination of traditional grappling culture with the structured sambo training system, coaching from generations of elite coaches, and a cultural context where athletic excellence in combat sports is highly valued creates an extraordinary pipeline of talent.

The Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov coaching lineage — which produced not just Khabib but multiple UFC fighters — is part of this system. When the same coaches who produced world sambo champions begin training for MMA, the results speak for themselves.