Nikita Andreyevich Krylov[a] (born March 7, 1992) is a Ukrainian professional mixed martial artist.
[4][5][6] He originally began training in Kyokushin karate at the age of ten, as his father had been a successful competitor in the sport himself.
[2][7] Krylov made his debut on July 27, 2012, at West Fight 4 in Donetsk, Ukraine, defeating Alexander Umrikhin via TKO.
[12] Krylov returned on January 25, 2014, in the opening bout of UFC on Fox 7, against Walt Harris.
[14] Following the win, Krylov told reporters he was considering dropping down to the light heavyweight division for his next bout.
[12] For his first fight at light heavyweight, Krylov replaced Thiago Silva against Ovince Saint Preux on March 15, 2015, at UFC 171.
[20] Krylov was briefly linked to a bout with Marcos Rogério de Lima on June 20, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 69.
[22] Subsequently, Lima was removed from the card on June 19, after visa issues restricted his entry to the United States.
[24] After surviving two guillotine attempts from Lima, Krylov won the fight by submission due to a rear-naked choke halfway through the first round.
[25] Krylov was briefly linked to a matchup with Jimi Manuwa on February 27, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 84.
[26] However, Manuwa was scratched from the contest with an undisclosed injury in late December and the bout cancelled.
[36] He was set to make his promotional debut against former Bellator Light heavyweight Champion Emanuel Newton on June 2, 2017, at Fight Nights Global 68.
[41][42] Krylov challenged for the FNG light heavyweight title against champion and fellow former UFC fighter Fabio Maldonado on May 19, 2018, at Fight Nights Global 87.
[52] Krylov was expected to face Volkan Oezdemir on October 18, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 180.
[71] Krylov is enrolled at Donetsk Law Institute, and his heroes are Ilya Mate, Igor Vovchanchyn and Al Capone,[2] after whom he was nicknamed and modeled his gimmick.
[4][73] Whilst training in Kyiv, Krylov wore a uniform bearing the Russian flag, despite the war between the countries.