Within the framework of the project "Student Success Stories" the Institute of Online Education continues to acquaint students between each other and FinU faculty and employees with their students.
Due to the fact that the Institute only offers online classes, students come from all over the globe. Today we are going to meet with Islam Labazanov from Rostov-on-Don, a first-year student doing a bachelor’s degree in Personnel Management. Today’s story will tell you about his path to success in sport, character development and professional fights.
My name is Islam Labazanov. I was born in Rostov-on-Don. This is a dazzling city.
I was 10 years old when my father, a Master of Sports in Freestyle Wrestling, brought me to the gym for the first time.
It was my desire to do freestyle wrestling. I wanted to test myself, my will, to become stronger and to shape my personal identity. Now I’ve mastered the techniques of Pankration, Sambo as well as Complex Martial Arts. When we moved to Moscow, I started to take part in all-Russian competitions and championships in Russia. That is when I had my first victories and my first medal places. I knew I was on the right track.
For now I have a silver medal at the Moscow Pankration Championship. In 2019 I became a Candidate Master of Sports in Pankration and Sambo. It’s not easy at all. I train at least two hours in the morning and then I work in the evening. Thanks to different competitions I visited many regions of Russia, for example, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Serpukhov, Moscow and the Moscow Oblast.
When I was 17 years old, I got a chance to enter the professional arena. The day before the Moscow Sambo Championship, I received a call from a friend who said that he urgently needed a fighter in the evening, as one of the contestants had been removed from the competition. I couldn’t say no, so I agreed without knowing anything about it. So I ended up in the professional arena. For the first time, my opponent was 10 years older than me and 6 kilos heavier. The fight was tough. I won the first round, he won the second round. But the third round, the crucial one, was won by me. It was my first professional victory.
Right now I have three wins in professional fights. I enjoy it, I feel what I’m capable of. I even have a profile on the website Sherdog.com, which keeps track of all professional fighters. Check out my account here: https://m.sherdog.com/fighter/Islam-Labazanov-298543.
How did I benefit from sports? I got stronger, more self-confident and experienced. I met a lot of interesting people, I made friends from all around Russia.
My goal in sports is to get into the UFC World League and become champion. But that’s not all I want to achieve in life. I want to graduate from the Financial University and become a professional financier.
I heard a lot about the Financial University when I was choosing where to get a higher education. A lot of my friends are currently studying here. I opted for distance learning as it enables me to study, work and train. Thanks to the convenient curriculum (I study on Saturdays) and a possibility to study online I can realise my dreams and achieve the set goals.
