33-year-old light heavyweight contender Nikita Krylov is currently brimming with confidence. With a 3-fight winning streak under his belt, ‘The Miner’ will be making his return after almost more than a couple of years on the shelves at UFC 314. The heavy-hitting 205fer would be hoping to continue his winning when he butts heads against former title contender Dominick Reyes, who’ll be carrying his own momentum heading into the fight as well.

Despite being one of the most experienced fighters in the 205 lbs division, Krylov is one of those fighters who have remained below the fans’ radar. But you’d be surprised to know that the 33-year-old’s background is pretty interesting. So, as we inch closer to his comeback this weekend, let’s get to know Krylov from a personal standpoint.

Is Nikita Krylov Russian? Ethnicity and nationality

Given his name, some fans might believe that Nikita Krylov is a Russian national. Well, that’s not wrong, but the 30-9 fighter’s birthplace is in the neighboring nation of Ukraine in Krasnyi Luch, Luhansk. However, he was born into an ethnic Russian family. Meanwhile, Krylov grew up with a father who was a successful Kyokushin Karate competitor, so there’s no doubt where he got his drive to become a fighter.

But did you know that Nikita Krylov had many family members who worked as miners? He grew up in a region over forty kilometers away from his birthplace, Donbas, where mining was a wildly popular occupation. As such, Krylov’s nickname ‘The Miner’ is a reflection and a call back to his family’s heritage, about which he appears very proud.

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But that’s his nationality and ethnicity we’ve established, and there are other aspects of his personal life, too. So now, let us move over from his background to his faith and find out what religion Nikita Krylov practices. Here’s what we know!

Which religion does Nikita Krylov follow?

If we take a look at the 33-year-old’s birthplace of Krasnyi Luch, we’ll find that there are various communities that follow different forms of Christianity. The most prominent of them all is the Russian Orthodox Church, with the Evangelical Christians, among others, making up the less prominent communities in the city. Hence, Krylov could belong to any one of these religious communities, but given that he has a Russian ethnic background, most people could assume that he follows the Russian Orthodox Church.

However, one thing’s for sure, the 33-year-old is a Christian since he has a cross tattooed on his right arm along with an angel. We can speculate all we want, but Nikita Krylov has hardly publicly mentioned anything about his religious allegiance, his ethnic roots, his family, or his native homeland. Most conversations revolve around his business inside the Octagon, even when he’s been in the public eye after signing with UFC more than a dozen years ago. What do you think?

The UFC light heavyweight title landscape is slowly shifting with Magomed Ankalaev being the new champion. But Alex Pereira will get his chance, which is the reported plan. But just like Khalil Rountree Jr. got his chance at light heavyweight gold when he was outside the top five, Nikita Krylov and Dominick Reyes could also find themselves there soon if they could put up consistent performances and win fights. Who do you see taking the victory this weekend? Drop your comments below.