Professional MMA fighter Akmal Khozhiev has been arrested in Guam on charges of murder with a deadly weapon after a COVID-19 dispute with a doctor.
Khozhiev was in Tamuning on Nov. 7 when officers say he stabbed and murdered a doctor during a COVID-19 related altercation. Khozhiev and Dr. Miran Ribati, from Guam Memorial Hospital, engaged in a heated debate regarding the vaccine when things turned violent.
The 27-year-old Khozhiev faces charges of first-degree felony aggravated murder with a deadly weapon and second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. As of now, his bail has been set at $1 million.
A witness claims that Khozhiev stabbed Ribati with an animal bone from a meal that the two men had allegedly shared in the apartment. Khozhiev also choked Ribati unconscious during the scuffle.
A local publication, Pacific Daily News, praised Ribati for his accolades and his work in the medical field, especially during the ongoing global pandemic.
Akmal Khozhiev Most Recently Fought in M-1 Global
Khozhiev has a professional record of 2-0 and hasn’t competed since he beat Abdulaziz Dzhurabaev in M-1 Global. He also competed in an exhibition in 2020 at a Brawl event against Jose Ramirez, knocking him out in the bout.
Veteran MMA fighter JJ Ambrose told KUAM that he wasn’t surprised to hear of the violent altercation involving Khozhiev. The two have a past of training together in camps.
“He was such a great person up until he wasn’t,” Ambrose said of Khozhiev. “We did everything we possibly could to warn people that AK wasn’t AK anymore. It’s very hard ’cause I know when you’re friends with two people and those two people are on the outs, you don’t want to take sides.”
Khozhiev has a court date set for Nov. 19.
What is your reaction to Akmal Khozhiev’s arrest and alleged murder?