I say “officially” because it’s quite possible there are other unofficial bouts that should count towards his record, but instead are known only as whispers and stories and vague recollections by the people who saw them take place.
The 44-year-old heavyweight is a grappling specialist, brandishing black belts in both Japanese jujitsu and Brazilian jiu jitsu, and earning 46 of his 59 career wins by submission, including an astonishing 14 finishes by Ezekiel choke.
With that kind of pedigree, with that type of history and experience and expertise, one might assume Oleinik was raised in a dojo, got an early start on his martial arts education, and always envisioned making a living competing on the mats, but that wasn’t the case.
Not even close.
Check Out Aleksei Oleinik’s Athlete Profile Here
“My favorite and first martial art was Japanese jujitsu; old school Japanese jujitsu,” said Oleinik, recounting his journey into martial arts on Wednesday morning. “I started coming to the gym for the first time at 19 years old.”
“I was almost old,” he said, chuckling, as I scrambled for a pen in order to do some quick math.
Oleinik was born on June 25, 1977, and he started training in Japanese jujitsu when he was 19, which would have been 1996. He made his professional debut on November 10 of that same year, earning three victories in one evening to begin what has become more than a quarter century competing in mixed martial arts.