Alexander Andreevich Yakovlev, also known as Sultan Magomedovich Tikhaev, is a Russianamateur wrestler, mixed martial artist and rapper. Yakovlev is recognized as an aggressive welterweight competitor who competed in the M-1 Global, ProFC, Shooto Russia, and Bodog Fight promotions. Yakovlev’s martial arts background included training in Sambo and Freestyle Wrestling prior to turning his attention to professional fighting at the age of nineteen. He is currently fighting in the welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
At the age of 19, Alexander made his professional MMA debut in a tournament for M-1 Global. Yakovlev faced Shamil Zavurov on March 16, 2012 at M-1 Challenge 31, with the fight ending in a draw Yakovlev faced Rashid Magomedov on November 15, 2012 at M-1 Challenge 35. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Yakovlev faced Murad Abdulaev on April 9, 2013 at M-1 Challenge 38. He won via split decision. Yakovlev faced UFC veteran Paul Daley on November 8, 2013 at Legend 2. He won via unanimous decision.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
On January 6, 2014, Yakovlev signed a contract with the UFC. Yakovlev was initially expected to make his debut against Yan Cabral on May 10, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 40. However, on April 9, Yakovlev was moved to card as he replaced an injured Mike Pierce against Demian Maia. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Yakovlev fought Nico Musoke on October 4, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 53. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Yakovlev next dropped to the lightweight division and faced Gray Maynard on April 4, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 63. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Yakovlev faced George Sullivan in the Welterweight at on January 30, 2016. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Yakovlev was expected to face Ryan LaFlare on July 23, 2016 at UFC on Fox 20. However, LaFlare pulled out of the fight in early June after sustaining an undisclosed injury and replaced by Kamaru Usman. He lost the one-sided fight via unanimous decision. Yakovlev faced Zak Cummings at UFC Fight Night 99 on November 19, 2016. He lost the fight by submission due to armbar in the second round. Yakovlev was expected to return from an extended hiatus to face Teemu Packalen on April 20, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 149. However on April 4, 2019 it was reported that Packalen pull out for undisclosed reason and he was replaced by Alex da Silva Coelho. Yakovlev won the fight via a guillotine choke submission in the second round. Yakovlev was scheduled to face Vinc Pichel on November 9, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 21 However, Pichel pulled out of the fight on October 24 citing an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Roosevelt Roberts. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
On 27–30 March 2013, Yakovlev became the Russian national HTHC champion. He beat Alexei Nazarov, Andrey Koreshkov and Alexander Stetsurenko. He has the rank "master of sports in freestyle wrestling." Yakovlev's brother, Rasul Tikhaev, is a member of Belarus National Freestyle Wrestling Team.
