Arguably one of the greatest freestyle wrestlers in the history of the sport, Buvaisar Saitiev took his last breath at the age of 49 this Sunday. The heart-wrenching news was confirmed by the head of the Russian Wrestling Federation, Mikhail Mamiashvili through the TASS news agency, “They called me just ten minutes ago to inform me of this tragedy. It’s hard to believe. We were supposed to fly together tomorrow”. Taking his last breath in Moscow, Saitiev left the world, leaving everyone in deep sorrow. Esteemed UFC personalities including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Daniel Cormier and many more have come forward to show their respect.

Taking to his Instagram handle, Daniel Cormier uploaded a photo of the legendary freestyle wrestler on his story with a caption that read, “One of the greatest of all time. Rest in peace champion.” Following Cormier’s post, Henry Cejudo uploaded a series of photos and videos about the wrestler and captioned it with a long message highlighting the importance of Buvaisar Saitiev in the wrestling world. “I wouldn’t be the wrestler that I am today. Rest in peace, my hero, my legend, and my great friend. 1975 -2025 RIP.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov uploaded a photo of himself with the legend and captioned it, “You inspired millions of children around the world and we will miss you. I express my sincere condolences to [your] family and loved ones.” Islam Makhachev took to his Instagram handle to upload a photo of Saitiev and captioned it, “A legend is gone. Condolences to all relatives and friends, we will miss you.”

Representative to Dagestan, Buvaisar Saitiev, boarded a train to Siberia to pursue his dream of becoming a freestyle wrestler. After enduring the harsh winters of the Siberian region, Saitiev debuted on the world stage, where he became a force of nature. He captured his first Olympic gold medal in 1996 at the Atlanta Games, defeating his American counterpart, Kenny Monday. Following this monumental feat, he cliched a second gold at the 2004 Olympics and a final gold at the 2008 Olympics.

In his 13-year-long career, the legendary wrestler has competed in the Olympics and the World Championships of wrestling 11 times. He has 3 Olympic gold medals and multiple championships. Saitiev only suffered two losses while capturing nine total gold medals. Well, the former wrestler also enjoyed a close relationship with the UFC as he trained alongside the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev.

The time when Khamzat Chimaev trained under Buvaisar Saitiev’s close aide

Preparing for his battle against Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, Khamzat Chimaev trained under legendary coach Salim Noutsalkhanov, who has worked alongside Buvaisar Saitiev in his Olympic days. Talking to the media, Chimaev emphasized that he was certain about his victory after training alongside such legends, “Yeah, with my old coach. I trained with him when I was young; he was a coach for the national team in Chechnya.”

He further added, “He focused on older guys who were competing for senior levels. Now, we’re starting again … There’s nobody here; it’s a closed space for Olympic wrestlers.” The conclusion of the training was a first-round victory for the undefeated warrior. Well, months have passed since that incident and Chimaev is equally shocked by the passing of Buvaisar Saitiev as the Chechen warrior took to his Instagram handle to upload several posts about the legend.

As the world mourns the loss of one of the best, preparation will be going on to give the legend a final resting place. Given that, what are your thoughts on Buvaisar Saitiev?