The name “SAMBO” derives from the Russian acronym Samozashchita Bez Oruzhiya, which literally translates to “self-defence without weapons”. It was developed in the early 1920s by the Soviet Union’s NKVD and Red Army, initially exclusively for training Soviet special forces in hand-to-hand combat. Intended as a merger of the most effective techniques in known martial arts, SAMBO was focused on the practicality and applicability of wrestling in true combat situations with an emphasis on aggression and quick-striking paramilitary techniques. One of the major differentiators of Krav Maga to other forms of MMA is that Krav Maga trains self-defence and fighting skills for realistic scenarios where there are no rules and no strikes for points.

Federation was established in 2019 and there is growing interest in the sport among Australian MMA practitioners. Currently, the biggest barriers to learning SAMBO is finding authentic SAMBO training.

SGS Krav Maga is proud to be offering SAMBO classes in metropolitan Sydney with a trained SAMBO fighter and instructor. 

Who Are The Best Sambo Fighters In MMA?

In MMA, there have been many great fighters who had a strong background in Sambo. And some of them we listed below were even UFC champions and one of the best in the history of the sport.

Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor is the former Pride FC champion whom people often see as the greatest heavyweight fighter in the history of the sport. Even though this stays open for a debate, no-one can deny Fedor was the most dominant one. He is, perhaps, an ideal example of how useful Sambo is for MMA. 

Before shifting to MMA, Fedor was a skilled Sambo fighter. He even competed in Sambo tournaments while fighting in pro MMA matches at the same time. Here are some of his notable Sambo achievements: