History Characters / UniversalWrestlingFederationRINGSRussia

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rings_hotel.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:A 3 to 4 Star Hotel]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rings_yekaterinburg.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Sports Company "RINGS" in Yekaterinburg]]

!!!Sergei Apasov
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin.
* HuskyRusskie
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong

!!!Denis Baykov
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin.
* HuskyRusskie
* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}: As well as sambo.
* {{Jobber}}
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong

!!!Arsen Bayrambekov
* AxCrazy: In real life he killed 4 people from 2003 to 2014 as sacrifices to Dagestan pagan gods and another 2 as he was hired to do. In March 2017, Verkhnepyshminsky City Court sentenced him to 14 years in prison.
* CoolTeacher: Was once a coach for the Russian Thai Boxing Federation.
* HuskyRusskie
* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: Allegedly, he was a champion of Dagestan, a national championship medalist, and more than once he was a champion of the Sverdlovsk region.
* {{Jobber}}
* LawmanGoneBad: Was a former policeman.
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong
* PsychoForHire: Was paid to murder at least 2 people. The other 4 were for "religious" reasons.
* SerialKiller: A real one, he killed at least 4 people in a ritualistic manner to Dagestan pagan gods.

!!!Alexander Bezruchkin
* TheApprentice: To Anatoly Ivanovich Vinik and Vasyl Vrazovsky.
* AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the head of the "Konfederatsiya Yedinoborstv" ("Confederation of Martial Arts"). He is also the director of the "Tsentra Sportivnoy Podgotovki" ("Center for Sports Training").
* BaldOfAwesome

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Greco-Roman Wrestling]]: A member of the Russian national team from 1993 to 2004, won bronze at the 1993 Baltic Sea Games, a 1995 and 2000 national champion with bronze medals in 1994, 1997, and 1999 and a silver medal in 1998, a 1995 bronze medalist and a 2000 and 2001 silver medalist at the Grand Prix of Ivan Poddubny, a 1996 Vantaa Cup champion, a 2003 Grand Prix of Germany champion, a 2001 European champion with a bronze in 1997 and placed 15th in 1999 and 5th in 2004, a 1993 and 1997 World Cup champion, and was a 2001 World Champion and placed 15th and 6th in 2002 and 2003 respectively.
* {{Jobber}}
* LeotardOfPower: An amateur wrestling one.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His name was spelt as Alexander Bezroutchkin in RINGS.

!!!Mikhail Borissov
* ADayInTheLimeLight: Participated in the 2000 King of Kings Tournament but was eliminated in the first round by unanimous decision to Roberto Traven.
* TheApprentice: To David Lvovich Rudman, Sergey Nikolaevich Lukashov, Renat Alekseevich Layshev, and Konstantin V. Troyanov.
* AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the Executive Director of the All-Russian Sambo Federation.
* CoolOldGuy: Was a 38 years old when he debuted in RINGS.
* HuskyRusskie
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: Trained at Sambo-70, won a national championship in 1991, and was a training partner of Suren Balachinsky.

!!!Andrei Byldin
* BadassTeacher: Was a boxing coach of Russian Top Team and introduced the Emelianenko brothers to the team.
* HuskyRusskie
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Boxing]]

* NonActionGuy: Did not compete in RINGS.

!!!Eduard Churakov
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Is a Russian powerlifting champion.
* CoolTeacher: Has his own school, Thai Boxing Club "Lotos".
* EarlyBirdCameo / GuestFighter: Fought in at a Seikendo event.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: As well as boxing and also participated in Russian Hand-to-Hand Combat Championship tournaments.

!!!Oleg Danilevsky
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan.
* BaldOfAwesome
* HiddenDepths: Became an actor and stuntman after his MMA fights.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: A Kazakhstan champion and also knew UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}.

!!!Alexander Emelianenko
-->''"Sasha will be the most threatening in the near future."''
-->-- Fedor Emelianenko

-->''"My punches are like electric trains, if I miss, my opponent would catch a cold."''
-->-- Alexander Emelianenko

* AffectionateNickname: He is called "Sasha" by his family.
* TheAlcoholic: He likes to drink.
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, Mikhail Ilyukhin, Alexander Fedorov, Andrey Byldin, Nikolai Pitkov, Vladimir Voronov, and Aleksander Michkov.
* AttackAttackAttack: Basically sums up his fight strategy.
* BadassBeard: Sometimes lets his facial hair grow out.
* BadassFamily: His older brother is Fedor.
* BaldOfAwesome: Recently shaved his head.
* BashBrothers: With his real life brothers Fedor and Ivan. Not so much with Fedor anymore as it was revealed that they have not spoken to each other for 10 years, though he states this is because of the people Fedor hangs out with and does not blame him directly.
* BigLittleBrother: Is bigger than his older brother Fedor.
* BlackSheep: He used to get into street fights in his youth and has the reputation of being a constant troublemaker. He is quick deny this and believes the media just wants to show he is a bad guy and Fedor is a good guy.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Has a stained relationship with his father after his parents divorced, he says only came back into their lives after hearing about their success and he started to calling his young brother, Ivan. Tried to teach him life lessons, then one time I couldn’t take it, he grabbed the phone and said "The lad is twenty years old, why are you teaching him like some school kid? You should’ve thought about it earlier." He states Fedor has a better relationship with their dad because the divorce happened when Fedor was in the army.
* CurbStompBattle: A lot of his wins come by KO or TKO in the first round.
* EarlyBirdCameo: He never competed in a RINGS event, he only trained with the RINGS Russia guys and cornered Fedor in his fights.
* GoodOldFisticuffs: Most of his wins in MMA come from KO or TKO by punches.
* HuskyRusskie: His nationality is Russian, but ethnically he is Ukrainian.
* ILetYouWin: He claims he let his brother Fedor take the gold medals in at least three combat sambo tournaments as Fedor was more well known and older than him.
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: He started his formal sambo training when he joined elementary school. He is also a 1999 European Championships Sport Sambo Gold Medalist, a FIAS World Combat Sambo Championships Gold Medalist in 2003, 2004, and 2006, a Russian Combat Sambo National Championship in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2010, with a silver medal in 2012, a 2003 Moscow Open Combat Sambo Silver Medalist, a 2003 Union of Heroes Cup Combat Sambo Silver Medalist, a 2004 Dagestan Open Combat Sambo Silver Medalist and a 2010 [=SportAccord=] World Combat Games Combat Sambo Silver Medalist. He is also knows amateur wrestling, boxing and is a Master of Sport in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}.
* {{Jerkass}}: Was charged with sexual assault, "kidnapping" by withholding a passport, and the forced use of "narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances on his former housekeeper Polina Stepanova. He was out on parole after 18 months in prison.
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong
* RealMenLoveJesus: Like his brother, he is of the Orthodox Christian faith.
* RedBaron: "Red Devil", "The Grim Reaper", "The Warrior", "The Neo Emperor", "Irezumi no Kaminari" ("Tattooed Thunder").
* RedOniBlueOni / SiblingYinYang: He is the red, Fedor's the blue.
* StoutStrength: Has the Emelianenko pudginess.
* TagalongKid: Was brought to Russian Top Team for being Fedor's little brother.
* TattooedCrook: Has tattoos all over his body and has been accursed as a Russian nationalist, equated with Roman Zentsov. He denies this and states that getting new tattoos is just a hobby to him and that they have no real meaning.

!!!Fedor Emelianenko
-->''"Fedor has no weakness. I have seen so many fights, and even the best fighters in the world have a flaw in their game but I have yet to find one in Fedor Emelianenko."''
-->-- Creator/BasRutten

-->''"People say he doesn’t look intimidating but I don’t know whether that’s true. Sometimes I see people who try to not look concerned. And you can tell they’re trying hard to come across that way. But, with Fedor, that’s just him. He puts the fear of the unknown on you. I’d rather someone tried to stare me down. That allows me to get a read on them. You look at the guys who are supposedly scary and intimidating, the ones who get in people’s faces, and you know most of the time it’s just for show. Fedor is quite comfortable being himself and that’s scarier than anything."''
-->-- Chris Haseman

* TheAce: In Pride FC, the Russian Top Team and the Red Devil Sport Club. He was undefeated in MMA for about a decade.
* AffectionateNickname: He is called "Fedya" by his family.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: He once mentioned he believed his brother Alexander is the more talented fighter.
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, Mikhail Ilyukhin, Alexander Fedorov, Andrey Byldin, Nikolai Pitkov, Vladimir Voronov, Aleksander Michkov, and Vasily Gavrilov.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He is president of the Russian MMA Union.
* BadassFamily: His brother Alexander is a respected MMA and sambo fighter in his own right.
* BadassTeacher: He holds seminars every now and then on MMA and sambo.

* BashBrothers: With his real life brothers Alexander and Ivan. Not so much with Alexander anymore as it was revealed that they have not spoken to each other for 10 years.
* BewareOfTheNiceOnes: He has been described as a humble man whose personality is seen as warm and likable outside of fights, in fights he will beat the will to fight out of anyone in his view.
* CurbStompBattle: Many of his fights don't last beyond the first round.
* DeathGlare: Famous for it, has been compared with Wanderlei Silva's glare, the guy whose RedBaron is "The Axe Murderer". Silva's glare makes you think 'this is gonna hurt', while Fedor's glare makes you think 'I might die'.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Against Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira who was considered unbeatable at the time where Fedor was considered the underdog, after his victory he was considered unbeatable.
** His three straight loses in Strikeforce is an Inversion.
* DissonantSerenity: His state of mind in fight.
* TheDreaded: People feared his ground-and-pound game and his DeathGlare. He should be considered '''The''' Dreaded since even a ChallengeSeeker like Wrestling/KazushiSakuraba refused a chance to fight him.
* GoodOldFisticuffs: Despite his many achievements in sambo and UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, in MMA he is mostly known and feared for his boxing and ground-and-pound skills.
* FutureBadass: That is, even more badass. He won the RINGS Absolute Championship and dominated the promotion, but it was when he jumped to PRIDE Fighting Championship that he showed his true potential.
* HeroKiller: Defeated Ricardo Arona (in a controversial decision) and then went to beat Renato Babalu, Lee Hasdell and Chris Haseman to win the mentioned championship.
* HuskyRusskie: His nationality is Russian, but ethnically he is Ukrainian.
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: A world champion at that. He is also a world medalist in UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}, trained in boxing and went to Holland to learn UsefulNotes/MuayThai to improve his UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}.
* LightningBruiser: Was a heavyweight that was described as being able to move like a lightweight, at least in his younger days.
* MasterOfAll: Excelled in the three fields: stand-up (his sole boxing was skill enough to outstrike important kickboxers), wrestling (he is a UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} and sambo medalist) and groundfighting (has a hell of a ground-and-pound).

* NervesOfSteel
* RealMenLoveJesus[=/=]ReligiousBruiser: For a man not known to say much, he has been described as being outspoken in his Orthodox Christian faith.
* RedBaron: "The Last Emperor", "The Baddest Man On The Planet", "Saikyō no Otoko" ("The Strongest Man"), "Mikado no Kōri" ("The Emperor of Ice").
* RedOniBlueOni / SiblingYinYang: He is the blue, Alexander's is the red.
* RespectedByTheRespected: See Creator/BasRutten's quote above and the fact Wrestling/KazushiSakuraba refused a fight against him.
* TheStoic: This is how he describes his state of mind in a fight.
--> "When I walk into a fight, I'm trying not to think about anything; collect myself and concentrate. And going into a fight, I don't feel any emotions, neither anger nor compassion. I don't emotionalize. I'm going into a fight with a clear mind... During the fight, my senses dim and basically I don't feel any pain."
** Also being born in Russia this is his expression around strangers.
** NotSoStoic: He is described by people close to him as warm and likable which is understandable as Russians tend to open up only to people they are close with.
* StoutStrength: Was quite pudgy compared to other fighters.
* SuplexFinisher: He was on the receiving end of one by Kevin Randleman. Subverted though as it didn't finish him and Fedor actually won seconds later by submission, which makes it seem that the suplex he took was not as bad as it looked.
* TranquilFury: Despite saying that he feels nothing when he prepares to fight, it is hard not to think of this as he punishes someone with his ground-and-pound.
* TheWorfEffect: His three straight loses in Strikeforce.

!!!Alexander Fedorov
* {{Acrofatic}}: Gain quite a bit of weight after he retired from sambo competition, but still could demonstrate the more acrobatic techniques of sambo with ease.
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Dave Meltzer once wrote that Fedorov was basically like a Russian Wrestling/KarlGotch.
* TheApprentice: To Alexander Kozlov ([[Wrestling/VladimirKozlov not that one]]).
* BadassGrandpa: Although RetiredBadass by the point he was in RINGS.
* BadassTeacher: Was the original head trainer of RINGS Russia.
* CoolOldGuy: Most definitely.
* {{Delinquent}}: Was one in his youth.
* DownerEnding: Died on 22 May 2006, he was 61 years old.
* GlassCannon: His lack of stamina is what ultimately led to defeat against Adilson Lima (though it was his corner throwing in the towel to spare him from more abuse), but in the opening minutes of the fight, he actually out-grappled him and even tried to go for a guillotine choke.
* GracefulLoser: He still hugged Lima after their fight. Hell he even hugged him before the fight.
* HuskyRusskie: Subverted, he was actually quite short for a Russian, especially compared to his students in RINGS Russia.
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: Champion and trainer.

* OldMaster: Was the coach of Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, Igor Vovchanchyn, and Mikhail Illyukhin, as well as a legendary sambo player.
* RevengeBeforeReason: Offered himself to fight Adilson Lima in a MMA match to avenge the defeats suffered by Illyukhin and Yoshihisa Yamamoto. Needless to say, the ''51'' years old Fedorov could do little against the 33 years old Lima, but extra points for the effort.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: RINGS spelt his name as Alexandre Fedorov.
* UrExample: Was part of the Russian team at the first European and World Sambo Championships and won gold in his division at both.

!!!Vasiliy Gorbonos
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan.
* HiddenDepths: Became an actor after his MMA fights.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]

!!!Wrestling/VolkHan

!!!Sergei Ignatiev
* TheApprentice: To Vladimir Gulidov, Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin.
* AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the president of the Krasnoyarsk Grappling Federation since 2015.
* BaldOfAwesome
* CoolTeacher: He works as a UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} coach at the "Samson" Fitness Club in Krasnoyarsk.
* CoolOldGuy: Was 30 when he started MMA and retired at 45.
* DummiedOut: Never appeared in RINGS, though he faced Ricardo Arona at PRIDE 28 representing the Russian Top Team and lost by rear naked choke.
* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: Was a part of the "Platina" Judo Club at the same time as fellow RINGS Russia alumni Vladimir Kravchuk.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: A four-time national champion from 1995 to 1998 with a bronze in 1994 and a silver in 1993, a silver medalist at the 1994 World Championship among military personnel, a bronze medalist in the 1998 European Team Championships, and won the 1996 World Cup. He also trained in sambo, was a pankration tournament winner, and is an amateur SumoWrestling champion at the 80kg division.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Ignatiev, Ignatov, or Ignachev.

!!!Mikhail Ilyukhin
-->''"The training process may be characterised in one word - survival. Truth is, it was given to us only on use, other than physical development, character developed, will to victory."''

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan and was his best known student. He also got started in sambo under Viktor Anatolyevich.
* AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: President of the Tula Sambo Federation.
* ArchEnemy: UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu fighters. He had somewhat of a chip on the shoulder for losing repeatedly to them.
* CowardlyLion: He often looked like he was terrified out of his mind while fighting, but he was unambiguously a good fighter and rarely committed mistakes.
* CoolTeacher: Was a coach for Russian Top Team. He is also a sambo coach for the Russian national team and also has his own sports club.
* DavidVersusGoliath: Against the 6 ft, 270 ib Ricardo Morais at the finals of the Absolute Fighting Championship tournament. Mikhail was fresher because his stablemate Achmed Sagidgusenov had allowed him to skip a fight, but still Morais posed a big menace. Unlike most examples, Mikhail lost the fight.
* {{Determinator}}: Competed in two Russian MMA tournaments representing RINGS Russia, at least four fights back to back the same night. He won one of them beating Igor Vovchanchyn and reached the finals of another in a brutal brawl with Morais.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: A national champion and also won bronze at the 1995 World Championships. He also had some training in boxing.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: His chin. Yes, he defeated Igor Vovchancyn and Mestre Hulk by jamming his chin into their eye sockets while grappling them.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: He and Ricardo Morais gave some to each other.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His surname was spelled as Illoukhine in RINGS and some MMA websites. One MMA event spelt his name as Michael Ilugin.
* StoutStrength
* ThreeAmigos: Was part of the Russian "A" team along with Wrestling/VolkHan and Sergei Sousserov for the World Mega Battle Tournament of 1998.
* TheUnfettered: While not an overtly dirty fighter, at least compared to some fellows from RINGS Holland, Mikhail has some cheating to his name. He infamously tapped out Creator/RandyCouture by locking illegally a keylock attempt while they were being repositioned by the referee.

!!!Igor Kalmykov
* CoolTeacher: Became a sambo coach after he retired from fighting.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: Won 1985 Youth World Sambo Championships and won the Sambo All-Soviet Union Cup in 1989.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His name is sometimes spelled as Igor Kolmikov or Kolmykov.

!!!Alan Karaev
* {{Acrofatic}}: As a sumo wrestler, he is this, for the first few seconds of the fight anyway.
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: He is basically a Russian version of Wrestling/{{Akebono}} in MMA, as both were huge and decorated sumo wrestlers who tried MMA, were put into fights with a few big names, and lost most of their fights.
* TheApprentice: To Kazbek Zoloeva.
* AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: In March 2016, he was elected President of the Sumo Federation of Russia.
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Is a 7 time Arm Wrestling World Champion (with left and right arm), multiple time European and Russian National Champion, and has won many prestigious world tournaments.
* DummiedOut: Did not fight in any RINGS events, he represented RINGS Russia in HERO'S and also wrestled for Big Mouth Loud.
* TheGiant: 6 ft 7 in and about 400 pounds of Russian mass.
* GlassCannon: Like most sumo wrestlers, he would start out a fight explosive, but he would quickly tire out and his defensive fighting wasn't great either.
* HuskyRusskie: The biggest guy to come out of RINGS Russia.
* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] SumoWrestling: An amateur sumo world champion in 2002, Russian national champion in 2003, and has won bronze and gold medals at the World Games.
* MightyGlacier: Big, strong and could get explosive in the first few seconds of a fight, but got tired easily.

* NeckLift: Head lift actually, in his Big Mouth Loud matches, his FinishingMove was an iron claw lifted into a slam.
* RammingAlwaysWorks: He's usually the one to takedown his opponent first in his fights due to this.
* RedBaron: "The Russian Bear", "Hakai Chōjin" ("Destruction Superman").
* StoutStrength: As a Russian sumo wrestler, this is a given.
* TopHeavyGuy: Close to this, his legs were not small, but being a 400 pound sumo wrestler in his prime, his upper body dwarfed them.
* UnrelatedBrothers: He often gets mistaken as the brother or cousin of Russian-Ossetian kickboxer Ruslan Karaev due to their surnames and both are from areas in North Ossetia. They are good friends in real life however.
* UnskilledButStrong: He had little MMA training before going into his MMA career.
* WearingAFlagOnYourHead: Wore MMA trunks with the colours of the Russian flag in his MMA debut against Gary Goodridge.

!!!Aleksandr Karelin
-->''"I train every day of my life as they have never trained a day in theirs."''
-->-- Aleksandr Karelin, when asked why he is called "The Experiment".

* TheAce: Had 2 undefeated streaks, the first from 1982 to 1987 and the second from 1987 to 2000, which is in the Guinness Book of World Records as well as the fact that for 6 years he never even lost a point. He was a 14-time champion of the USSR and Russia, won 12 gold medals in the European Championships, won 9 gold medals in the World Championships, and won 3 Olympic gold medals in a row in the super heavyweight division with a silver in his 4th Olympics which he only lost because of new rules and a technicality.
* TheApprentice: To his wrestling coach Viktor Kuznetsov.
* BaldOfAwesome
* CharlesAtlasSuperPower: He could deadlift people with his Karelin Lift who were equal to or more than his weight, which was about 300 pounds. It is a move used regularly by wrestlers in lower weight classes, but is considered from impractical to near impossible in the superheavyweight division.
* CoolVersusAwesome: The main reason Wrestling/AkiraMaeda brought him to RINGS when he could not get Rickson Gracie.
* CurbstompBattle: Most of his matches usually last about under 3 minutes.
* DeathGlare: When he lost to Rulon Gardner.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Inverted, in 1987 he lost to Igor Rostorotsky for that year's USSR championships.
** Inverted again, to Rulon Gardner in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
* {{Determinator}}: Aside from his hellish training, around January 1988 he had a serious concussion, and doctors considered removing him from the 1988 Olympic team, he competed anyway and he still won. In 1993 World Championships, despite breaking two ribs in the opening bout against Matt Ghaffari, he still won. At the 1996 European Championships in Budapest, he had torn the right chest muscle so badly that doctors predicted he would not be able to use his right hand for several months, he still won that and the 1996 World Championships. Was urgently operated on in Budapest and recovered within three months to compete at the 1996 Olympics, looked notable vulnerable throughout the whole tournament, and [[PunctuatedForEmphasis HE. STILL. WON]]!
* TheDreaded: Struck fear in the hearts of Olympic wrestlers for two decades. Even today, people just look at pictures for him and decide they would wrestle a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot fire zombie gorilla]] rather than merely stepping on a mat with Aleksandr Karelin.
* {{Expy}}: He is thought of as the second coming of legendary Greco-Roman wrestler Ivan Poddubny. Both were reportedly only defeated two times in their careers and both were known as "The Great".
* FromNobodyToNightmare / TookALevelInBadass: His coach was at first skeptical about a big but powerless boy, yet he accepted Karelin and motivated him for hard training, both in wrestling technique and physical strength, now he is considered by many the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler to have ever lived.
* GameBreakingInjury: Like most top wrestlers, Karelin had a number of severe injuries through his career. A notable example is his 1996 Summer Olympic finals match against Matt Ghaffari. Karelin had come off a shoulder surgery and looked vulnerable against a strong Ghaffari, who was able to repel Karelin's efforts to lift and slam him, forcing Karelin to change strategy and use all of his skill and experience to defend a 1–0 lead.
* GeniusBruiser: Holds a PhD, a law degree and is currently a politician in Russia. His PhD was devoted to countermeasures against suplex throws (Russian: Методика проведения контрприемов от бросков прогибом), and habilitation to preparation of top-level wrestlers (Russian: Система интегральной подготовки высококвалифицированных борцов). Basically he has a PhD in wrestling.
* GuestFighter: He was brought to RINGS for Wrestling/AkiraMaeda's retirement match.
* HeroicBuild: Unlike many of the other superheavyweight Greco-Roman wrestlers of his time who were mostly examples of StoutStrength, Karelin was lanky at 6ft 3, yet ripped and most of his weight came from pure muscle. Wrestling/AkiraMaeda compared Karelin's muscles to the ones on racehorses.
* HeroicSecondWind: Was actually losing to Bulgarian wrestler Rangel Gerovski in the finals of the 1988 Olympics, but with 15 seconds left, he lifted Rangel with his famous Karelin Lift to win his first Olympic gold medal.
* HuskyRusskie: The guy ''over'' Fedor Emelianenko in some photo they have together.
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Greco-Roman Wrestling]]: He didn't just know it, many consider him the greatest ever. He also trained in boxing when he was in school and sambo when he was in the army.
* LeotardOfPower: An amateur wrestling one.
* LivingLegend: Of Greco-Roman wrestling.
* MetronomicManMashing: Is pretty much famous for this.
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: The best possible example. He has responded to accusations of steroid use by passing every test ever asked of him.
* RealMenWearPink: He is an enthusiastic fan of opera and ballet.
* RealSongThemeTune: Used Music/OzzyOsbourne's song "Perry Mason" as his entrance theme in RINGS.
* RedBaron: "The Experiment", "The Russian King Kong", "The Russian Bear", "Aleksander the Great", "Reichō-rui Saikyō no Otoko" ("The Strongest Man of The Primates"), "Asfal'toukladchik" ("The Asphalt Paver").
* RespectedByTheRespected: It is known that several wrestlers who have faced Karelin, even high-level ones, have let themselves get lifted up and thrown by him out of fear that he would lift them up anyway and injure them in the fall.
* StoneWall: Aside from his strength that helped him to overpower his opponents, he was also a great defensive wrestler and for 6 years never even lost a point in competition.
* SuplexFinisher: His SignatureMove was the Karelin Lift, a sort of modified deadlift gutwrench suplex. When properly executed, [[TheAllSolvingHammer it awarded Karelin 5 points per throw, the maximum awarded in Greco-Roman wrestling]].
* TrainingFromHell: When he broke his leg at the age of 15, his rehabilitation consisted of running through the Siberian woods and rowing a wooden rowboat until his hands bled.
* WarriorPoet: He writes poems in his spare time.
* WorfHadTheFlu: Literally, in his rematch with Igor Rostorotsky. He had that as well a concussion, but unlike most examples of the trope, he won and did so by pinning him, the first man to ever do so.
* WorthyOpponent: Subverted, he once joked that his toughest opponent was his refrigerator, which he had to carry up eight flights of stairs by himself to get it into his apartment.
* WrestlingFamily: His son Ivan is also a Greco-Roman wrestler.

!!!Sergei Kharitonov
-->''"This Russian is too scary."''
-->-- Health Herring

-->''"I was afraid, I did not have any hands or legs."''
-->-- Semmy Schilt, after his loss to Kharitonov at Pride 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal.

* TheAce: Of Russian Top Team after Fedor left.
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, Alexander Fedorov, and Mikhail Ilyukhin.
* BadassFamily: His father was a boxing trainer and also did skating, football, and long distance marathon running. His mother was a volleyball coach.
* BigBrotherMentor: Fedor Emelianenko was one to him in Russian Top Team as his sparring partner, teaching him ground-and-pound and submissions on the ground.
* {{Determinator}}: According to Mikhail Ilyukhin, key elements of Sergei's success are his willpower and unpredictability in the ring.
* TheDreaded: He was feared for his powerful boxing and ground-and-pound techniques.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: His fight with Semmy Schilt, where he brutalized the big Dutchman with ground-and-pound. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and even Fedor Emelianenko were at a loss for words and were unable to hide their surprise after the fight.
* GoodOldFisticuffs: Most of his wins in MMA come from KO's and TKO's by punches.
* HeroKiller: Has beaten like Murilo Rua, Semmy Schilt, Pedro Rizzo, Alistair Overeem, and Andrei Arlovski in MMA. In UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}, he has beaten Mighty Mo and Jérôme Le Banner.
* HiddenDepths: Graduated from a high school with a specialization in music and once wanted to be an accordionist.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: Trained at the Airborne Troops Academy, was a Russian Airborne Troops Sambo champion, a Eurasia Combat Sambo champion, a six time Russian Airborne Troops Hand-to-hand combat fight champion, a three time Russian Army combat fight champion, and a World Universal Fight Unifight champion. He first started with boxing and was a 2003 Central Asian Games silver medalist, a 2004 Asian Championships silver medalist and a 2007 Russian Championship silver medalist. He also regularly trains with the Russian national boxing and Sambo teams, as well as some freestyle wrestlers. He also added UsefulNotes/MuayThai training to his regimen with Golden Glory, and, according to him, he even borrows some elements from UsefulNotes/{{Karate}}.
* ItsRainingMen: He was a paratrooper for the Russian Airborne Troops [Vozdushno-desantnye voyska Rossii (VDV)]. He remained on active duty while training full-time with the Russian Top Team and even came to the ring in his full military uniform. He is now retired from the army.

* NamesTheSame: He sometimes gets confused with his full namesake Sergey Haritonov, a much less prominent mixed martial arts fighter from Estonia.
* NeverBeHurtAgain: Started training boxing seriously when he was ten or eleven years old, following an incident when a drunken adult passer-by broke up a scuffle between Sergei and another boy by lifting Sergei in the air, hitting him in the face and cutting his eyebrow with that punch. [[{{Irony}} The man justified his behavior by saying that Sergei should not have been hitting a grounded opponent]].
* RedBaron: "Paratrooper", "The Russian Mercenary", "The Siberian Tiger", "Shinigami Teishin" ("Death God Paratrooper"), "Russia-Gun Saikyō no Heishi/Otoko" ("Russian Army's Strongest Soldier/Man"), "Russia no Reitetsu Ningen Kyōki" ("Russian Coolheaded Human Weapon").

!!!Vladimir Klementiev
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Was basically one to RINGS Georgia's Tariel Bitsadze, both were their respective teams head UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} guy, both were beaten by Andy Hug at a World Championship, and they even faced each other in RINGS, [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter with Tariel choking Klementiev out]].
* TheApprentice: To Alexander Tanyushkin.
* CarpetOfVirility
* DoesNotLikeShoes: Wore footguards instead.
* DownerEnding: Was shot and killed in April 2000 at the age of 37.

* IKnowKarate: A Kyokushin black belt, part of the Russian national team, a three time Russian national champion from 1991 to 1993, won international tournaments in The Netherlands and Germany, and also competed in the World Championships twice and faced the legendary Andy Hug in one of them.
* TheMafiya: Was rumored to be part of it or at least had dealings with them, which led to his death.
* MightyGlacier: Slow but hit hard.

* ThreeAmigos: Was part of the Russian "B" team along with Wrestling/AndreiKopylov and Nikolai Zouev for the World Mega Battle Tournament of 1998.

!!!Yuri Kochkine
* ADayInTheLimeLight: His draw against Ricardo Morais and his victory over FutureBadass Alistair Overeem.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: To Alistair Overeem.
* TheApprentice: To Alexander Tanyushkin.
* AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the head of the Sverdlovsk Kyokushin Federation and is the vice president of the Association of Kyokushin Karate and the Urals Federal District of the Russian Kyokushin Organization.
* CoolTeacher: A Kyokushin UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} coach and a Branch-Chief of the International Karate Organisation.
* {{Determinator}}: Pulled a draw against the mighty Ricardo Morais despite being beaten down all the match.
* DoesNotLikeShoes: Wore footguards.

* IKnowKarate: A 4th dan Kyokushin black belt, a World Championship runner-up, won the 1994 Russian Oyama Cup, was a bronze medalist at the 1993 Russian Oyama Cup, and a 1993 European champion. He was also an European UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} champion and won silver at an ADCC event in Ural. He also briefly trained in boxing before he switched to UsefulNotes/Karate and UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}.
* JackOfAllStats: Unlike the other Russian karatekas on the team, Kochkine also knew how to grapple thanks to his UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} background.

* RedBaron: "Russia no Kaichō" ("Russian Monster Bird").
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Yuri, Yuriy, or Iouri? Also Kochkine or Kochkin?
* TheWorfEffect: By Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

!!!Wrestling/AndreiKopylov

!!!Roman Kostenikov
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin..

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: As well as UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} and boxing. He was also a sparring partner of Fedor Emelianenko.
* {{Jobber}}

!!!Vladimir Kravchuk
* TheApprentice: To Vladimir Gulidov.
* CoolTeacher: Is now a UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} coach and has his own school.
* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: Was a part of the "Platina" Judo Club at the same time as fellow RINGS Russia alumni Sergei Ignatiev.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: Trained at the "Platina" Judo Club, is a multiple time national silver and bronze medalist, and is an international master of sport. He also trained in sambo.

* RedBaron: "Dolgozhitelem" ("Long-Liver").
* StoutStrength

!!!Vladimir Kuramenchev

* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}

!!!Achmed Labasanov
-->''"There isn't a lot of text out there on Labasanov, which is surprising given his spread in the turn of the century in MMA: He was a multiple time Russian and European Pankration champion, a champion wrestler, a two-time entrant into the RINGS King of Kings tournament, and a one-time Pride veteran. But he made his bones in the sport in the days before the internet made every fighter a public figure, and Dagestan wasn't quite on the international radar the way it is these days."''
-->-- A profile of Labasanov from a VideoGame/FireProWrestling user CarlCX from https://steamcommunity.com.

* ADayInTheLimeLight: Participated in both the King of Kings tournaments but never passed the first match.
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: A Russian national champion and also trained in sambo. He also briefly trained with the RINGS Japan guys.

* RedBaron: "Turbo".
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His name is sometimes spelt as Akhmed Labazanov.

!!!Alexander Michkov
* BadassTeacher: Was Fedor and Alexander Emelianenko's boxing coach in Russian Top Team. He is also one of the head coaches of the Red Devil Club.
* GuestStarPartyMember: Was brought onto Russian Top Team to be Fedor's coach. He left with Fedor to the Red Devil Club.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Boxing]]: As well as sambo.

* NonActionGuy: Didn't compete in RINGS.

!!!Ruslan Mirzoev
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]
* {{Jobber}}

!!!Alexei Motorin
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin.
* BadassBeard
* CoolTeacher: Owns two sports clubs called Khuligan Number One and Russkiy Zver'.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Boxing]]: As well as sambo and was a national UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} and Chinese Sanshou champion.

* RedBaron: "Khuligan" ("Hooligan").
* StoutStrength: Was near 300 pounds.

!!!Ochirov
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin.
* HuskyRusskie
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]
* {{Jobber}}

* OnlyOneName
* UnknownCharacter: No one seems to know his real name.

!!!Pavel Orlov
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan and was one of his first students.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: A 1988 USSR youth champion.

!!!Andrei Pashkin

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Greco-Roman Wrestling]]: A Russian Greco-Roman champion.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His name is also spelt as Andrey Pashkin.

!!!Igor Perminov
* AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the Chairman of the Audit Commission of the Sverdlovsk Sambo Federation.
* BadassMustache / PornStache
* BashBrothers / IdenticalTwins: His twin brother Oleg is also a sambist.
* CoolOldGuy: Was 41 when he fought in MMA.
* CoolTeacher: Is a sambo coach of the Nizhny Tagil Youth Sports School.
* HuskyRusskie
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: As well as UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}.
* {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight against Borislav Jeliazkov, which he lost.

!!!Nikolai Pitkov
* BadassTeacher: Was a UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} coach for Russian Top Team and introduced Fedor Emelianenko to RINGS.
* CoolTeacher: He runs a private kindergarten.
* HiddenDepths: He now runs a sushi bar.

* IKnowKarate: As well as boxing, UsefulNotes/MuayThai, and UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}.

* NonActionGuy: Did not compete in RINGS.

!!!Vladimir Pogodin
* DownerEnding: Died in 2008 in a plane crash.

* NonActionGuy: Was the manager of RINGS Russia and Russian Top Team. He was also the Vice-President of All-Russia Sambo Federation.

!!!Andrei Reznik
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin.
* HuskyRusskie
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]

* NamesTheSame: Not to be confused with the Ukrainian fighter with the same name.

!!!Viktor Rudova
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin.
* CoolTeacher: Is now a wrestling coach
* DummiedOut: Was originally supposed to fight in an alternative bout at the Russia vs Bulgaria I show against Sergei Apasov, but was replaced by Denis Baykov instead

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Amateur Wrestling]]: As well as sambo.

!!!David/Eldanis Safarov

* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai
* {{Jobber}}

* RedBaron: "Tank".

!!!Achmed Sagidgusenov

* ILetYouWin: Threw his fight with teammate Mikhail Ilyukhin at IAFC: Absolute Fighting Championship 1.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His name is also spelt as Akhmed Sagidgusenov.

!!!Alexei Saninkov

* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}

!!!Vasily Shvaya
* TheApprentice: To Vasiliy Troyanovich Perchik.
* DownerEnding: Died in 2001 while saving someone's life from the Kama River, he was 38 years old.
* HiddenDepths: At the beginning of 1996, he created the public organization Vozrozhdeniye to help young athletes and sports veterans organize sports competitions.

* ICouldaBeenAContender: One of the best sambist of his generation and appeared in RINGS for one match against Masayuki Naruse, which he won, but for some reason left right after.
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: Was the captain of the USSR national sambo team, a multiple national champion and medalist, a 1992 European champion, and a 1988 World Champion with a silver in 1986 and bronze in 1984.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: This name is usually written as Vassili Chvaia on English sites.
* TeenGenius: Became a Master of Sport in sambo at 15 years old.

!!!Alexander Skrypnikov

* NonActionGuy: Was a sponsor of RINGS Russia and Russian Top Team.

!!!Sergei Sousserov
* ADayInTheLimeLight: Has submission win over Wrestling/TsuyoshiKohsaka at the RINGS Rising: Team Japan vs Team Russia event.
* AlliterativeName
* BrattyHalfPint: The youngest guy on the original team.
* GlassCannon: He had decent sambo skills, but arguably his biggest flaw was that he lacked heart and had poor defense against strikes.
* HeroicBuild: A youth national UsefulNotes/{{Bodybuilding}} champion.
* HuskyRusskie
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: A youth national champion and a 1989 Youth World Sambo Champion.
* InformedAbility: Was brought in by Vladimir Pogodin who billed him as Russia’s Secret Weapon, but he never lived up to the hype.
* {{Jobber}}

* RedBaron: "Russia no Himitsu Heiki" ("Russia’s Secret Weapon").
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: He is sometimes listed as Serguei Sousserov and at other times his surname is spelled as Susserov.
* ThreeAmigos: Was part of the Russian "A" team along with Wrestling/VolkHan and Mikhail Ilyukhin for the World Mega Battle Tournament of 1998.

!!!Konstantin Uriadov
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin.
* {{Bouncer}}: Works for a security company.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: As well as sambo.

* RedBaron: "Punisher", "Palach" ("Executioner").

!!!Vladimir Voronov
* AlliterativeName
* AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the vice-president of the Belgorod Sambo and Judo Federation.
* BadassTeacher: Was Fedor and Alexander Emelianenko's sambo coach since they were kids. He is also one of the head coaches for the Red Devil Club and is the main coach of Kirill Sidelnikov.
* GuestStarPartyMember: Was brought onto Russian Top Team to continue being Fedor's coach, especially for his fight against Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. He left with Fedor to the Red Devil Club.
* HuskyRusskie
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: As well as UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}.
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong

!!!Gennady Yaremenko
* TheApprentice: To Ivan Chertov.
* CoolTeacher: Was the former head coach of Judo Club "Tiger" in Odessa. He is now president and a coach of the Judo Club "Randori" in Odessa.
* HuskyRusskie: Subverted, he is actually Ukrainian.
* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: A Youth European and World champion in 1983, a two time Youth USSR champion in 1983 and 1985, won bronze medals in 1987, 1989, and 1990 in the regular USSR Championships with a silver in 1988, won many international A-class tournaments, and was one of the first national champions of a newly independent Ukraine. He also trained in sambo and was a Games of the Peoples of the USSR in judo and sambo in 1986.
* {{Jobber}}: Had only one match against Wrestling/VolkHan in RINGS.
* MightyGlacier: Strong but slow.
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: Represented the USSR before Ukraine gained independence.
* RedBaron: "Gigant".
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His surname was written by Dave Meltzer as Yaryumenko and can also be spelt as Yaromenko and even Eremenko for some reason.
* StoutStrength: Had a wide waist and competed in the absolute class in judo, a division usually occupied by hefty dudes.
* TheUnpronounceable: Which is why he was introduced as Gennady Gigant.

!!!Victor Yerohin
* ADayInTheLimelight: Was a finalist at the IAFC - Absolute Fighting Eurasian Championship event won by Mikhail Ilyukhin.
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: Combat sambo.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His surname is sometimes also spelt as Yerokhin or Erokhin.

!!!Yakov Zobnin
* TheApprentice: To Alexander Tanyushkin and Andrei Bura.
* AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the Deputy Minister of Sports, Culture, and Youth Policy in Sverlovsk.
* CoolTeacher: A Kyokushin UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} coach and has coached for the AOZT Kyokushinkai Karate Sports Club from 1993 to 1997 and "Going to the Sun" Karate Sports Club NGO since then.
* TheGiant: 6ft 6 and about 220 pounds.

* IKnowKarate: A Kyokushin black belt and was a three time national champion, an European champion, and a 1997 World Champion.
* {{Jobber}}: Had only one fight in RINGS against Renato Sobral, which he lost in about 3 minutes to a rear naked choke.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His name is listed as Jacob on English sites.

!!!Nikolai Zouev
* AffectionateNickname: "Zouev-Sensei" by the RINGS Japan guys.
* TheApprentice: To Alexander Fedorov and was his main assistant.
* ArrogantKungFuGuy / TokenEvilTeammate: Possibly the only RINGS Russia guy ever in getting a yellow card.
* BadassTeacher: For Russian Top Team and is mentioned to have been significant in training Fedor Emelianenko for his fights against Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. He also taught sambo to the RINGS Japan guys.
* BeardOfEvil
* CoolTeacher: Had his own sambo school. He also founded and developed the "RINGS Hotel" in Yekaterinburg which also acts as a martial art sports complex facility.
* EvilCounterpart: To Wrestling/VolkHan.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: Part of the Russian national team, winner of several championships in Japan, and won bronze medals at several USSR Championships. He also did freestyle wrestling in middle and high school.
* LeanAndMean: Downplayed as he was this compared to most of the other guys in RINGS Russia when he debuted in RINGS, he slowly gained weight over the years.

* OvershadowedByAwesome: Is the least remembered senior member of Russian Top Team since he never competed in MMA.
* TheRival: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov and the rest of sambo players in RINGS (excepting Chris Dolman, who was unimpressed by him). He went to the extent of beating Han in a worked sambo match.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Zouev or Zuev?
* ThreeAmigos: Was part of the Russian "B" team along with Wrestling/AndreiKopylov and Vladimir Klementiev for the World Mega Battle Tournament of 1998.
* WarriorPoet: Write poems and essays in his spare time.

* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Had a MMA career of 11 wins and 1 loss. The loss was by a controversial unanimous decision to Dave Menne at the Shidokan Jitsu - Warriors War 1 event since he instinctively held on to the cage a couple of times after Menne tried to overturn him, he ended up being a victim of "Big" John McCarthy's point steal penalties that cost him the fight that he dominated.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Yuri or Iouri? Also Kochkine or Kochkin?

-->''"First and foremost is a business that should be profitable and therefore the spectacle should be spectacular. Of all the current fighting shows, RINGS seemed to me the most interesting - it is possible to demonstrate a high level of technique, strength and speed and at the same time reasonable restrictions remove the danger of accidental injury or death. A high class and ethical principles lead fighters to guarantee no foul play."''

* TheApprentice: To Andrei Bura.

* TheApprentice: To To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, Mikhail Ilyukhin, Alexander Fedorov, Andrey Byldin, Nikolai Pitkov, Vladimir Voronov, and Aleksander Michkov.

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, ALexander Fedorov, and Mikhail Ilyukhin.

* AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: Is the head of the Sverdlovsk Kyokushin Federation and is the vice president of the Association of Kyokushin Karate and the Urals Federal District of the Russian Kyokushin organization.

* IKnowKarate: A 4th dan Kyokushin black belt, a World Championship runner-up, won the 1994 Oyama Cup, was a bronze medalist at the 1993 Oyama Cup, and a 1993 European champion. He was also an European UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} champion and won silver at an ADCC event in Ural. He also briefly trained in boxing before he switched to UsefulNotes/Karate and UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}.

* IKnowKarate: Kyokushin world championship runner-up, won the 1994 Oyama Cup, was a bronze medalist at the 1993 Oyama Cup, and a 1993 European champion. He was also an European UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} champion and won silver at an ADCC event in Ural.

* IKnowKarate: Kyokushin world championship runner-up, won the 1994 Oyama Cup, was a bronze medalist at the 1993 Oyama Cup, and a 1993 European champion. He was also an European UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} champion and won silver at an ADCC Ural Cup.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Yuri or Iouri?

* IKnowKarate: Kyokushin world championship runner-up and a 1993 European champion. He was also an European UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} champion.

[[caption-width-right:350:A 3 to 4 Star Hotel With A Gym Full Of Badasses]]

* ThreeAmigos: Was part of the Russian "B" team along with Wrestling/AndreiKopylov and Vladimir Klementiev for the World Mega Battle Tournament of 1998.

!!!David Safarov
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]

!!!Aleksander Ivanov

* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/MuayThai: Trained at the Korona Gym.

* RedBaron: "The Doctor".

!!!Igor Kalmykov
* CoolTeacher: Became a sambo coach after he retired from fighting.
* HuskyRusskie
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: Won 1985 Youth World Sambo Championships and won the Sambo All-Soviet Union Cup in 1989.
* {{Jobber}}
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin..

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Boxing]]: As well as UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}} and sambo.

!!!Andrey Reznik

!!!David Safarov

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]
* {{Jobber}}

!!!Achmed Sagidgusenov
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin..

* ILetYouWin: Threw his fight with teammate Mikhail Ilyukhin at IAFC: Absolute Fighting Championship 1.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His name is also spelt as Akhmed Sagidgusenov.

!!!Alexei Saninkov

* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}
* {{Jobber}}

!!!Vasily Shvaya
* TheApprentice: To Vasiliy Troyanovich Perchik.
* DownerEnding: Died in 2001 while saving someone's life from the Kama River, he was 38 years old.
* HiddenDepths: At the beginning of 1996, he created the public organization Vozrozhdeniye to help young athletes and sports veterans organize sports competitions.

* ICouldaBeenAContender: One of the best sambist of his generation and appeared in RINGS for one match against Masayuki Naruse, which he won, but for some reason left right after.
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: Was the captain of the USSR national sambo team, a multiple national champion and medalist, a 1992 European champion, and a 1988 World Champion with a silver in 1986 and bronze in 1984.

* HeroicBuild: A Soviet national UsefulNotes/{{Bodybuilding}} champion.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: A Soviet national champion and a 1989 Youth World Sambo Champion.

* LeanAndMean: Downplayed as he was this compared to most of the other guys in RINGS Russia.

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan and Viktor Anatolyevich.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: A Soviet national champion and also won bronze at the 1995 World Championships. He also had some training in boxing.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His surname was spelled as Illoukhine in RINGS and some MMA websites.

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan.

* TheApprentice: To Alexander Fedorov.

* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Was basically one to RINGS Georgia's Tariel Bitsadze, both were their respective teams head UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} guy and they even faced each other in RINGS, [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter with Tariel choking Klementiev out]].

* IKnowKarate: A Kyokushin black belt, part of the Russian national team, a three time Soviet Union national champion, won tournaments in The Netherlands and Germany, and also competed in the World Championships twice and faced the legendary Andy Hug in one of them.

* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: Was a part of the "Platina" Judo Club at the same time as fellow RINGS Russia alumni Vladimir Kravchuk.

* ADayInTheLimeLight: Participated in both the King of Kings tournaments but never passed his first match.
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin..

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin..

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin..

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin..

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: This name is usually written as Vassili Chvaia on english sites.

* GlassCannon: Arguably his biggest flaw was that he had decent sambo skills but that he lacked heart and had poor defense against strikes.

* RedBaron: "Punisher", "Executioner".

* CoolTrainer: A Kyokushin UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} coach and has coached for the AOZT Kyokushinkai Karate Sports Club from 1993 to 1997 and "Going to the Sun" Karate Sports Club NGO since then.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: And a multiple time Dagestan, Russian National, European, International, and World Champion in Chinese Sanshou (or Sanda).

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His name is also spelt as Bozigit Ataev.

* ArchEnemy: Ricardo Arona. He once tried to get him in a rematch in MMA to settle the score between them.

* BitchSlap: Accidently did this to Ricardo Arona in their ADCC match, he was actually trying to grab his neck, a classic move of the Dagestan fighting traditions. Arona was not amused and the match briefly devolved into a slap fest.

* GameBreakingInjury: Retired from fighting due to a back injury. There were once quite a few rumours as to why he left fighting, one said that he had been traumatized for being imprisoned in Abu Dhabi and was no longer in the right mental condition to fight on certain levels, another said that he had to hang up his gloves after having suffered a severe brain aneurysm following a match made in Thailand. More stories, even more imaginative, tell of how he had been killed in a firefight during the war in neighboring Chechnya or that he met his end due to his alleged links with the Russian mafiya that turned bad.

* CoolTeacher: Was once a the coach of the Russian Thai Boxing Federation.

* PsychoForHire: Was paid to murder at least 2 people.

* WrestlerInAllOfUs: In a match he had with Wataru Sakata in RINGS Rising: Team Japan vs Team Russia, he busted out something very similar to a [[Wrestling/AJStyles Pele Kick]].

* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Is a powerlifting champion.
* CoolTeacher: Has his own school, Thai Boxing Club Lotos.

* TheApprentice: To Alexander Kozlov.

* ThreeAmigos: Was part of the Russian "A" team along with Wrestling/VolkHan and Serguei Sousserov for the World Mega Battle Tournament of 1998.

* {{Acrofatic}}: As a sumo wrestler, he is this.

* DummiedOut: Did not fight in any RINGS events, he represented Russian Top Team in HERO'S in 2005 and later wrestled for Big Mouth Loud.

-->''"I train every day of my life as they have never trained a day in theirs"''

* TheAce: Had 2 undefeated streaks, the first from 1982 to 1987 and the second from 1987 to 2000, a 14-time champion of the USSR and Russia, won 12 gold medals in the European Championships, won 9 gold medals in the World Championships, and won 3 Olympic gold medals in a row in the super heavyweight division with a silver in his 4th Olympics which he only lost because of new rules and a technicality.

* CharlesAtlasSuperPower: He could deadlift people with his Karelin Lift who were equal to or more than his weight, which was about 300 pounds.

* CurbstompBattle: Most of his matches usually last about last about under 3 minutes.

* HeroicBuild: Unlike many of the other superheavyweight Greco-Roman wrestlers of his time who were mostly examples of StoutStrength, Karelin was lanky yet ripped and most of his weight came from pure muscle.
* HiddenDepths: He is an enthusiastic fan of opera and ballet.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Greco-Roman Wrestling]]: He didn't just know it, many consider him the greatest ever. He also trained in boxing and sambo.

* RedBaron: "The Experiment", "The Russian King Kong", "The Russian Bear", "Aleksander the Great", "Reichō-rui Saikyō no Otoko" ("The Strongest Man of Primates").

* SuplexFinisher: His SignatureMove was the Karelin Lift, a sort of modified deadlift gutwrench suplex.

* WorfHadTheFlu: Literally, in his rematch with Igor Rostorotsky he had that as well a concussion, but unlike most examples of the trope, he won.

* LeanAndMean

!!!Jacob Zobnin

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]
* {{Jobber}}

* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Possibly the only RINGS Russia guy ever in getting a yellow card.
* BadassTeacher: For Russian Top Team. He also taught sambo to the RINGS Japan guys.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: Part of the Russian national team and winner of several championships in Japan. He also did freestyle wrestling in middle and high school.

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin..

!!!Aldinov Roussimov
* BoxingBattler

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Boxing]]

!!!David Safarov

* {{Jobber}}

!!!Achmed Sagidgusenov
* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Wrestling/AndreiKopylov, Nikolai Zouev, and Mikhail Ilyukhin..

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]
* ILetYouWin: Threw his fight with teammate Mikhail Ilyukhin at IAFC: Absolute Fighting Championship 1.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His name is also spelt as Akhmed Sagidgusenov.

!!!Alexei Saninkov

* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Kickboxing}}
* {{Jobber}}

!!!Vasily Shvaya
* TheApprentice: To Vasiliy Troyanovich Perchik.
* DownerEnding: Died in 2001 while saving someone's life from the Kama River, he was 38 years old.
* HiddenDepths: At the beginning of 1996, he created the public organization Vozrozhdeniye to help young athletes and sports veterans organize sports competitions.
* HuskyRusskie
* ICouldaBeenAContender: One of the best sambist of his generation and appeared in RINGS for one match against Masayuki Naruse, which he won, but for some reason left right after.
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: Was the captain of the USSR national sambo team, a multiple national champion and medalist, a 1992 European champion, and a 1988 World Champion with a silver in 1986 and bronze in 1984.
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]
* {{Jobber}}

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan and Wrestling/AndreiKopylov.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: Participated in the Sambo World Championships in 1985 and won the Sambo All-Soviet Union Cup in 1989.

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan, Nikolai Zouev and Mikhail Ilyukhin.

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know]] UsefulNotes/{{Judo}}: Trained at the Platina Judo Club, is a multiple time national silver and bronze medalist, and is an international master of sport. He also trained in sambo.

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan and Wrestling/AndreiKopylov as part of Russian Top Team.

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan and Wrestling/AndreiKopylov.

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan and Wrestling/AndreiKopylov.

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan and Wrestling/AndreiKopylov.

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: A national champion.

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan and Wrestling/AndreiKopylov.

* TheApprentice: To Wrestling/VolkHan and Wrestling/AndreiKopylov.

* HiddenDepths: Became an actor after

* [[IKnowKarate I Know Sambo]]: A national champion

!!!Andrey Byldin

* IKnowBoxing