Azerbaijan is known for outstanding success in sports, with its athletes winning world championships in karate, wrestling, judo and many other disciplines.

Quite a few Azerbaijanis are also achieving success outside of their countries.

Elgun Khanoglanli (29) is a professional MMA fighter. Born in Fuzuli, Azerbaijan, Elgun resides in New York and strives to fights at the UFC. Currently, he is the world and European champion in Budo, a five-time champion of Azerbaijan and the US grappling champion.

In an interview with Araz TV, Khanoghlanli shared the story behind his sports achievements in the United States and in his homeland Azerbaijan.

Road from karate to budo

The sportsman said that he started sports with karate in a village in Fuzuli where he grew up. He became engaged in Kyokushin Kaikan, known as the strongest style of karate.

“We used to watch Bruce Lee’s and Van Damme’s movies in the village a lot. Once we heard about a teacher who arrived from Baku and opened a gym in the village. I told my parents that I wanted to sign up for karate classes and they supported my idea. Because I was small, I was fast during trainings and everyone liked it.

Later, I started participating in competitions and after a while I became Azerbaijan’s champion in the weight category of 25-30 kg. In karate, I went from the 1st place to the black belt. In 2008, we had to move to Baku.

Since I could not see my future in karate, I started wrestling. I was training at the Zenit sports club. However, I could not get good results in wrestling. At that time, my friends told me about the competition held by the Budo Martial Arts Federation.

I participated in the first Budo competition because I had been engaged in Kyokushin before and became the Republican champion in the 60 kg weight category. It was at this competition that I met Faig Rafiyev, the President of the Azerbaijan Budo Martial Arts Federation who gave me great support in my future career. Currently, I am a world and European champion in Budo, a five-time champion of Azerbaijan.”

Road to the US

The sportsman said his moving to the United States was quite unexpected.

“Of course, it is the dream of every athlete to see the Statue of Liberty. But in late 2015, I was preparing to move to Sydney. However, Faig Rafiyev said that the United States would host the World Budo Championship and he wanted me to participate in the national team of Azerbaijan. I participated in the World Championships in Florida, US in August 2026, ranking third in 57 kg weight category.

After the competition was over, different clubs approached the athletes, offering them to stay in the United States. Me and two other members of our national team joined the Mutant MMA club in New York back then and this is how I moved to the US.”

Elgun said that in 2018, he became a champion in the grappling competition held by The North American Grappling Association and won the belt.

“Along with me, Habib Nurmagomedov also won the league. Last month, I took part in the next competition of this league and became the US champion again. I achieved the main results in the United States at the Love MMA club. I won my first two MMA fights.

I won my first two MMA fights. Later, in 2019, I had the opportunity to participate in the UFC Fight Pass and made my way to the UFC after winning the fight. This received an extensive coverage in the Azerbaijani media. However, due to financial difficulties back then, I could not fully focus on trainings and unfortunately, I lost that fight. But now I am completely focused on the training and with God’s help I am trying to reach the place I deserve as soon as possible.”

Elgun said his main career goal is to fight at the UFC.

“The goal of almost all fighters is to fight in the UFC. Ever since I first moved to the United States, I’ve been training in gyms with athletes who have fought in the UFC. I was training in the same gym with the current UFC champion Aljamain Sterling. At the same time, because you are from the same club, they want you to become a champion, too.

I am currently doing my best to participate in the strongest promotion in the world. Last month I became the US grappling champion. I have a few fights ahead. If I win, it will open the way for me to the UFC. This is my main goal.”

Advice from European, world champion

Giving advice to young athletes, Elgun encouraged them to follow their dreams.

“Follow your dreams and you will definitely reach the desired results.

Ronaldinho has signed a long-term cooperation agreement with an Azerbaijani gaming startup company.

From now on, the famous Brazilian footballer will promote the Eleven Kings game launched by a US-Azerbaijani entrepreneur Orkhan Rzayev.

“Ronaldinho is a strong influencer known across the world and has 130 million followers on social media. Cooperation with such a person is a great success for the Azerbaijani startup team. Our current goal is to grow the game faster by benefiting opportunities created by this cooperation,” the founder of the startup Rzayev said.

Eleven Kings is a free football manager strategy game launched in March 2020.

Under the agreement, Ronaldinho will promote the game Eleven Kings on his social media accounts and participate in events organized by the Eleven Kings. Eleven Kings also acquired the right to use Ronaldinho’s name and image for advertising and marketing purposes.

Ronaldinho, in return, acquired a stake in Eleven Kings.

The idea of ​​Eleven Kings was born in the summer of 2017. The first version of the game was released in September 2019 on Google Play. The startup was launched in March 2020 in Lausanne, Switzerland. More at https://www.elevenkings.com/.

Azerbaijan has won its first silver in Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The medal was won by Rafael Aghayev who competed with Italy’s Luigi Busa in the final on August 6.

The athlete in the 75 kg weight category congratulated the Azerbaijani people for the country’s first silver in the Olympics this year.

“I came for a gold medal. Unfortunately, I grabbed the silver medal… This is a victory not only for me but for the whole of Azerbaijan and the Turkic people. We must not be discouraged. Tonight I will train and prepare for the next competition,” Report quoted Aghayev as saying.

Aghayev is a five-time world champion and 11-time European champion. The President of the World Karate Federation, Antonio Espinosa, hascalled him “Diamond of the Karate World.”

It should be noted that this is the first time that karate is being presented in Olympic games.

Apart from silver medal, Azerbaijani Team has won three bronze medals in judo, boxing and wrestling in Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Moreover, freestyle wrestler Haji Aliyev (65 kg) has qualified for the final, while Maria Stadnik (50 kg) and Sharif Sharifov (97 kg) will for bronze medals on August 7.

Some 44 athletes are representing the country at the Summer Olympics being held from July 23 to August 8.