Muslim Magomedovich Salikhov (Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

: Муслим Магоме́дович Салихов, 9 June 1984 in Makhachkala

Makhachkala

-Twin towns/sister cities:Makhachkala is twinned with: Sfax, Tunisia Siping, China Spokane, United States Vladikavkaz, Russia Yalova, Turkey Ndola, Zambia-See also:*...

) is a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n heavyweight

Heavyweight

Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...

 Sanshou kickboxer

Kickboxing

Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....

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Salikhov faced Liu Hailong

Liu Hailong

Liu Hailong is a Chinese Sanshou kickboxer. Liu's rise to fame came in 2000 in the inaugural King of Sanda tournament. Liu not only won his weight class, but went on to win a grueling one-night open weight round robin tournament against much bigger fighters as well, giving him the title Sanda...

 who held the title "King of Sanda" at 2003 World Wushu Championships

2003 World Wushu Championships

The 2003 World Wushu Championships was held from November 3 to 7, 2003 in Macau, China. 59 IWUF member federations with 411 athletes participated in the event.-Medal table:-Men's taolu:-Men's sanshou:-Women's taolu:-Women's sanshou:...

 in Macau

Macau

Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

. Both were evenly matched, with Liu Hailong declared the winner. Salikhov was the Sanshou champion at 2004 European Wushu Championships

European Wushu Championships

European Wushu Championships is the wushu championship organized by the European Wushu Federation every two years. The first championships were held in Brussels, Belgium in May 1986, with 70 athletes from eight participating member countries....

 held in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 and he became the World Champion in 2005

2005 World Wushu Championships

The 2005 World Wushu Championships are the 8th edition of the World Wushu Championships, and were held at Quan Ngua Sports Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam from December 9 to December 14, 2005 attracting 525 athletes from 67 countries and territories.-Medal table:...

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In February 2006, he participated in the first international "King of Sanda" tournament in Chongqing

Chongqing

Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...

 and became the first non-Chinese to win the title, making European Wushu Federation arguably the strongest continental Wushu

Wushu (sport)

The sport of wushu is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. It was created in the People's Republic of China after 1949, in an attempt to nationalize the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts...

 federation of the world. He again won the world title in 2007

2007 World Wushu Championships

The 2007 World Wushu Championships are the 9th edition of the World Wushu Championships, and were held at Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Beijing, China from November 11 to November 17, 2007. It acts as the qualifying tournament for the Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008...

 and 2009

2009 World Wushu Championships

The 2009 World Wushu Championships are the 10th edition of the World Wushu Championships, and were held at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Canada from October 25 to October 29, 2009.-Medal table:-Men's taolu:-Men's sanshou:-Women's taolu:...

, also the gold medal at Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008

Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008

Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008 was a wushu competition which was held from August 21 to 24, 2008 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Beijing, China....

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Salikhov hails from the Republic of Dagestan and is a Kumyk

Kumyks

Kumyks are a Turkic people occupying the Kumyk plateau in north Dagestan and south Terek, and the lands bordering the Caspian Sea. They comprise 14% of the population of the Russian republic of Dagestan. They speak the Kumyk language...

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