Nikolai Nikolayevich Zouev (Russian: Николай Николаевич Зуев; 20 May 1958 – 21 May 2022)[1] was a Russian[2] mixed martial artist. He competed in the Heavyweight[3] division.
He had a background in sambo and freestyle wrestling, starting a rivalry with Volk Han.[4]
He debuted on 13 July 1993 at Fighting Network Rings "RINGS BATTLE DIMENSION '93" against Todor Todorov.[5]
He spent most of his career in Fighting Network Rings in a variety of fighting codes including professional wrestling, Sambo and Mixed Martial Arts. He had multiple matches against his rival Volk Han and Mitsuya Nagai.[5]
He stopped fighting for RINGS on 21 February 1999 in a loss against Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov as the promotion was shifting towards only doing MMA matches.[5]
He became a coach after his retirement, helping to train fighters such as Sergei Kharitonov.[4]
Zouev died on May 21, 2022, a day after his 64th birthday, from years of heart disease.[6][better source needed]
