Who is Vener Galiev? One of the oldest fighters to score a professional MMA win in 2023

Russian MMA fighter Vener 'Bashkir' Galiev is two years away from turning 50 but is still maintaining a highly active fight schedule.

Galiev, 48, owns a professional record of 37-15 and is a former amateur wrestler as well. He holds Russian national and international combat sambo championships. Aside from being a Master of Sport in both arts, Galiev is also a Master of Sport in Unifight.

Primarily competing in Russia, Galiev recently picked up an impressive win over UFC veteran Levan Makashvili. Showing no signs of slowing down, 'Bashkir' currently has another fight scheduled on December 12 under the Absolute Championship Akhmat banner.

Expand Tweet

Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more

Aside from Makashvili, Galiev has also fought other notable names such as Diego Brandao, Ryan Healy, Rustam Khabilov, and Alexander Shlemenko. With Galiev making his professional MMA debut in February 2004, the Russian is just three months shy of completing 20 years of competition.

Who is Vener Galiev?

Contrary to what some may believe about a 48-year-old MMA fighter, Vener Galiev does not fight for money or show a single hint of old age in his movement and fight style.

Galiev did not make his professional MMA debut until after he turned 29, as a majority of his youth and young adult career was spent in either Greco-Roman wrestling or combat sambo. However, as many UFC fans can attest, both styles translate very well into MMA.

The Russian reportedly works as a police officer alongside his combat sports career. In his spare time, Galiev is often seen on his social media remaining active outdoors or being in the snow.

Not only does Galiev display elite athleticism regardless of his age, but is also a workhorse in the gym. Training out of the RusFighters MMA gym, the lightweight veteran has never fought in a major MMA promotion, and has most notably competed for Fight Nights Global and M-1.

Galiev's next opponent, Hacran Dias, is also a UFC veteran fighting out of the highly respected Nova Uniao team.

About the author

Jaren covers MMA and boxing for Sportskeeda. He has a total experience of over a year and also writes for FanSided MMA and BetSided.

Jaren is a Bachelor of Arts in Sports Media with high distinction from Butler University in 2023 and chose a field that interests him the most to begin his professional journey. He has over four years of experience practicing boxing and kickboxing and is also a two-stripe Brazilian jiu-jitsu white belt.

His all-time top-five list of MMA fighters includes Demetrious Johnson, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, and Amanda Nunes.

Jaren's first memory of becoming a fan of the sport dates back to the UFC 195 event in January 2016, which was headlined by the Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit title fight. While compiling pieces, he focuses on quality and fact-checking by going through multiple credible sources, such as UFC, Sherdog, and ESPN.

His other interests include training in jiu-jitsu and kickboxing, and watching basketball and American football.

Know More

Follow One Championship News, Schedule & Results at Sportskeeda.

Edited by Krishna Venki