In 1984, Gamzatkhanov attended the Police Academy in Moscow. A year later, he competed in the USSR sambo championship and placed second after losing in the finals to the legendary Alexander Pushnitsa. However, he bounced back by winning the gold medal at the openweight division in 1985, as well as the first place in the USSR championships of 1987 and 1988. He also won the Kalinin international tournament, reserved to the highest practitioners of the sport. In 1991, Gamzatkhanov returned to the USSR championship, but he was again eliminated from the finals, this time by Murat Khasanov.