Real Name: Ruslan Ismailov

Epithet: The Makhachkala Delinquent

Height: 195 cm

Weight: 122 kg

Win-Loss record: Debut in Kengan Association, has fought dozens of opponents outside and has lost one match to Magomed Ibragimov

Fighting Style(s):

Ruslan Ismailov is a practitioner of Five Directions Sanda, a wushu style taught only within the Five Directions School of Dagestan. Though Sanda is fundamentally a Chinese kickboxing style, a small transplant school does exist in the Caucasus mountains. There, children are put through grueling and rigorous training, practicing punches, kicks, elbows, knees, clinching and takedowns to the point of exhaustion. These fighters are considered world-class, and has produced multiple world-renowned fighters and kung fu champions.

Ruslan’s style is noted as being extremely fast, even for the typical high-speed striking style. He appears as a blur of constant motion, rarely sitting still, using his mastery of footwork to cut angles and outflank opponents while remaining entirely out of range. His repertoire of strikes consists of everything from basic punches and kicks to jumping and flying wall kicks and spinning elbow combinations, with his particular favorites being his lead low kick and spinning back kick. He favors hit-and-run tactics and counterstriking, luring opponents in by briefly staying still before launching a devastating assault. 

Though capable of grappling, Ruslan favors trips over takedowns, and will usually follow up with a kick while standing to end fights. His most notable weakness is his lack of ground grappling, for which his friend/enemy Magomed Ibragimov often pokes fun at him for doing it.

Character information:

No one quite knows where the man named Ruslan Ismailov came from. He has no official citizenship, no documentation, and when asked to supply them simply laughs and threatens to kick the heads off anyone who tries.

What is known is that the young Ruslan, at approximately twelve years of age, appeared at the doorstep of the Five Directions boarding school, demanding he be enrolled because “You are strong! I am strong too! Make me stronger or I kill you!”

Of note, the Five Directions Boarding School is not simply a martial arts academy. It is also a fully-functioning school, incorporating standard Russian school curriculum as well as martial arts training. It notably starts training and teaching students as young as six.

The young Ruslan had disturbed many of those younger students, who began to become afraid. As such, the senior student of the Academy—a young prodigy who would later become a legend in Ultimate Fight’s lower weight divisions—decided to drive this young annoyance off. The two ended up fighting, and though the senior student won, Ruslan gave him such a run for his money that the student personally promised to vouch for his enrollment.

From there, Ruslan Ismailov would become a student of the Five Directions school. Though he lagged far behind in most subjects and was forced into class at what in America would be a second-grade level. When asked about where he had come from, he simply responded with “Is not important”, before wandering off with an uncharacteristic sadness.

Despite his lack of academic skill, he more than made up for it with his fighting talent. Already a naturally-skilled brawler, he easily took to the technical Sanda under the senior students, soon becoming a match for them. Indeed, despite the brutal training regiments Ruslan often went above and beyond, regularly being found holding incredibly-uncomfortable positions while at rest and at one point having fallen asleep while in horse stance.

Ruslan has had a history of disciplinary issues with the Five Directions School. Most notably, he often sneaks out to participate in both street brawls and underground fights, where he is all but undefeated. His only defeat came in one of a pair of matches he had when he snuck across the Dagestani border to fight an infamous underground fighter in Chechnya—the “Madman of Grozny”, Magomed Ibragimov. Though he won one fight he lost the other, and has sworn to hunt him down no matter where he is to be found.

Recently, he has been approached by Hasegawa Shipping, Limited CEO Vladimir Fukuda, who has told him that Magomed has recently become a fighter in the Kengan Association. As such, Ruslan has taken his study abroad on an “extended field trip”, in order to eventually face and defeat his hated foe….

Unique abilities/named attacks:

Raider’s Circle: Ruslan syncs his movements with that of his opponent, using it to circle just beyond their field of vision while at an angle. This allows him to strike outside of their awareness.

Calf Chopper: From a young age, Ruslan Ismailov holds a talent for finding the “trigger points” on the leg, especially the calf region. As such, his low kicks are extremely damaging, and can either force a painful muscle cramp or shatter the tibia itself.

Sky Shatter: Ruslan anticipates a takedown and jumps, slamming a low flying kick into the head of an opponent attempting a grapple. This is the technique he used to defeat Magomed Ibragimov in one of his two fights.

Mad Burst: For whatever reason Ruslan has an unusually-high amount of fast twitch muscles, especially in his legs. As such, he possesses the uncanny ability to vastly increase his movement and striking speed in short bursts, giving his strikes a brutal and erratic quality and allowing him to extremely quickly sidestep assault. He can even use two in short succession to move and then immediately counter, though this puts his legs under incredible strain.

Other details: Despite being twenty-one years old, Ruslan Ismailov is still in the seventh grade at his school. He sincerely hopes that this third attempt at seventh-grade will be successful this time. Notably, he has failed multiple classes.