Mairbek Khasiev, president of one of Russia’s largest MMA promotions pulled the plug on a five round tournament bout between UFC vet Rashid Magomedov and Ali Bagov.
MMA has had its share of lame fights over the years. UFC fans may remember Derrick Lewis’ classic stinker against Francis Ngannou, or the now infamous Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza rematch. Old school fans will remember Ken Shamrock vs. Dan Severn 2 as the longtime holder of the mantle of ‘worst fight in MMA history.’
It seems one promoter, however, wasn’t about to let his event enter into that kind of inauspicious company. Mairbek Khasiev, head of one of Russia’s most prominent MMA promotions—Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA)—found himself hitting his limit for boredom during ACA 141’s co-main event and decided to do something about it.
The booking, between UFC veteran Rashid Magomedov and former ACA welterweight title contender Ali Bagov, was set to serve as quarterfinal match for the promotion’s ongoing lightweight tournament. But after four rounds of relative inaction, Khasiev had seen enough. The ACA president stepped into the cage before the start of the fifth to wave the fight off (h/t Caposa).
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— ??????? ??? (@VestnikMMA) July 22, 2022
As a result of the unexpected stoppage, both fighters were reportedly DQ’d—and the bout was declared a ‘no contest’.
“I got no nerve for this shit, I’m sick of it,” Khasiev is reported to have said after stopping the match. “We’re the 2nd greatest fight league in the world, and what is this? We wanna [show] you what a great league we really are. What is this, what the hell are you doing, do you think we’re eight years old? Get outta here!”
The winner of that bout was expected to face Artem Reznikov in the tournament semifinals. Reznikov is fresh off a 5 round decision back in June, over UFC vet Davi Ramos in Ramos’ first fight since getting his release from the world’s largest MMA promotion back in March. No word yet on just what the ACA plans to do with their tournament following this controversy.