‘The Code Of The Highlander’ – A Way Of Life That Carried Unbeaten MMA Phenom Shamil Erdogan From Dagestan To ONE Championship
Amid a remarkable journey, Shamil Erdogan is next hoping to take out a legend and prove he belongs among the world’s top fighters.
The undefeated 34-year-old will face Aung La N Sang in a middleweight MMA clash at ONE 168: Denver on Friday, September 6, and he knows an impressive showing on United States soil would take his career to the next level.
Erdogan has put in more than two decades of hard work to reach this point, and his next outing at Ball Arena is his biggest opportunity yet.
Before he squares off with the former two-division ONE MMA World Champion, find out how the rural Dagestan-born athlete has hustled his way toward the top.
‘We Couldn’t Show Weakness’
Erdogan was born in the mountainous region of Kizilyurt, Dagestan, where he grew up with his schoolteacher parents and younger brother.
Given their jobs, it’s not surprising that the Russian’s parents were great role models and loving caregivers – and he sees their input as the driving force behind his own worldview:
“I always thank God for giving me such parents. My parents loved me and my brother. My mother gave us her love, and my father was strict. This was the ideal way to raise children at that time.
“You have to understand: My parents grew up and lived in the Soviet Union, where the state tried to take away a man’s identity and turn him into a robot. But my father succeeded in preserving the code of the highlander – this spirit of freedom and honor – and passed it on to me, for which I am very grateful to him.”
That’s not to say it was always an easy childhood.
Things were tough on the streets of the Russian Republic – an area that has seen its fair share of violence and conflict – and only the strong survived there.
Erdogan explained:
“In the ’90s, when children had neither tablets nor mobiles, we could say that we lived in the street and lived by its laws, where the weak couldn’t live, where there were physical and moral violations, where we couldn’t show weakness. We lived like a pack of wolves.”
Guided By His Father
Erdogan’s father knew that a hobby would be a good way for his son to spend his time more productively and give him some direction, so he enrolled him in freestyle wrestling.
The family patriarch was very hands-on with his son’s progression, making sure to support Erdogan and push him every step of the way:
“When I was 12 years old, my father brought me to the wrestling club for the first time. But it wasn’t like he just handed me over to the coaches and left me to do my own thing.
“He made me get up every morning to do my practice, never missed a training session, and found time to travel with me to competitions. I’m sure if it weren’t for his supervision, I wouldn’t have become what I am now.”
Still, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the youngster, and it seemed like, despite his efforts, he was not going to become the elite wrestler he wanted to be.
Given the massive success of the sport in the region, Erdogan initially found himself at the bottom of the pile, but again, his father’s encouragement kept him pushing forward.
He recalled:
“In Dagestan, wrestling is a very popular sport, so at the beginning, I was not very good. I remember that in my youth, I lost one tournament after another, and with my weak mind, I was thinking that I was engaged in a senseless activity.
“But my father told me that the most important thing was consistency and the results would come. He was right.”
Choosing MMA Over Wrestling
Erdogan’s persistence eventually paid off with successful results in competitions.
The Kizilyurt native took the experience from his early defeats and used them to improve. Soon, he was hitting the podium and rising through the levels – even defeating current three-division ONE MMA World Champion Anatoly Malykhin on the wrestling mats.
After competing for his home country, Erdogan then accepted an offer to move to Turkey and represent the nation, soon finding success on the world stage under his new banner:
“At a young age, I joined the Russian national team and stayed there until I was offered to join the Turkish national team. The most memorable medal for me is [a bronze] from the World Championship.”
At this point, MMA was growing in prominence – and it piqued Erodgan’s interest.
Given all the new facets to learn and the intensity of the combat, his passion and focus quickly switched from wrestling to the all-around sport:
“At some point, I got bored with wrestling. It did not and could not give me the emotions I get in MMA.
“In the beginning, I tried to mix wrestling with my MMA career, but the further I got, the more it became clear that I had to choose one or the other. I am grateful to wrestling for everything that it has given me, but my choice, even against the will of my father, was to go for MMA.”
Aiming For World Title Gold In ONE
Erdogan is now 9-0 in his professional MMA career and looks poised to keep rising.
He showcased his well-rounded skill set in his ONE debut last year when he stopped Fan Rong with a vicious body kick and is now setting his sights on the biggest names.
The Kremost Fight Club representative has the chance to take a massive scalp when he faces Aung La N Sang at ONE 168: Denver. From there, he plans to go after the divisional gold – currently held by his old rival Malykhin.
Erdogan added:
“Aung La N Sang is one of the best. He has a legacy. He was a two-weight champion in his time. My hope is that a win over him will open the door for me to a championship belt.
“I would like to face Anatoly Malykhin. I have a good relationship with him, and I know him from the times when we competed in freestyle wrestling.
“But he is now the champion in my weight class, and if it stays this way, our fight will be inevitable.”
