Exclusive Oleg Taktarov Interview - Part One

Oleg Taktarov chokes out David "Tank" Abbott to win the UFC belt. (Photo from Taktarov.org)

Oleg Taktarov burst onto the mixed martial arts world in 1995 at "UFC 5: Return of the Beast". A former combat instructor for the KGB, "The Russian Bear" was the first man to show the MMA world the toughness that has come to define fighters from his home country. With incredible heart and determination, he seemed totally immune to fear or pain in legendary matches against Dan Severn, "Tank" Abbott, Ken Shamrock and Marco Ruas.

But for Taktarov (14-5-2), fighting was a stepping stone towards a career as a movie star. Three years after capturing the UFC championship belt, he left MMA to pursue his dream in Hollywood. Amazingly, he found just as much success on movie sets as he once did in the octagon. Now, after appearing in films like "15 Minutes", "National Treasure" and the forthcoming movie "Righteous Kill" with Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, Taktarov is returning to mixed martial arts again with his heart set on reaching new heights of success in the sport where he first found fame.

Bodog Nation: When you first came to America, you said you wanted to win the UFC belt and then become a movie star. Now you've done both. That is amazing.

Oleg Taktarov: It's a great success story. It was incredible to get the championship belt. I expected to get it right away because I never lost any fights in Russia, but it took me six months.

BN: How did you get into fighting in Russia?

OT: The first time I got into a fight in the streets of Russia, I was probably 13 years old ... (Read the more of this Oleg Taktarov Interview at Bodog Nation.)

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