Russian Bellator fighter Sergei Kharitonov took part in a scuffle in Moscow.
He received several serious injuries and was taken to hospital, where he will have to undergo surgery in the near future.
The incident took place on the evening of November 13th.
At first, unconfirmed information appeared that Kharitonov was beaten by one or two unknown persons, and the damage was inflicted by knuckle dusters.
Later, the media reported that the attacker was another representative of mixed martial arts, Adam Yandiev.
Both fighters took part in the event at the Luzhniki Stadium.
According to press reports, the scuffle broke out over a financial issue.
The heavyweight allegedly demanded that Yandiev return a large debt to him, and in response he insulted his colleague.
A verbal skirmish began between them, which later grew into assault.
As noted, Yandiyev threw Kharitonov to the floor and began to beat him.
Then they both got to their feet and the heavyweight tried to fight back.
The witnesses wanted to separate the fighters, but the fight ended only after the police arrived.
This information was confirmed by a source familiar with the situation.
“Sergei talked to one person, after which he was hit and a fight ensued.
We can say that everything actually happened on the basis of a domestic conflict, we discussed the issue of financial debt, "TASS quotes him.
During the conflict, the Bellator fighter suffered several serious injuries at once, including internal damage to his right eye, the agency said.
He was conscious but required hospitalization.
At the hospital, he was diagnosed with a concussion, a closed head injury, a displaced nose fracture, multiple bruises and hematomas.
Another participant in the scuffle was Kharitonov's friend, also MMA fighter Ruslan Abdo.
This was announced by the athlete himself.
According to him, Yandiev attacked them unexpectedly, "not like a man."
However, he did not specify what exactly caused the conflict.
The athlete noted that all three are familiar, but no one provoked the attacker on the ill-fated evening.
“Adam's head is in a mess.
First he attacked me, then Sergey ... There the conversation was absolutely non-conflict, we just talked with him and that's it.
When he found out that I was a friend of Kharitonov, for some reason he began to sort things out.
Then he hit me in the nose, broke it.
When I was taken away, Sergey arrived.
According to eyewitnesses, Yandiev attacked him from behind, hit him in the eye with a knuckle duster.
Now we are all in the hospital, "the website of the REN TV channel quotes Abdo as saying.
Kharitonov's lawyer, Alexander Kravtsov, said that the fighter made a statement to law enforcement agencies.
He also commented on the client's condition after the attack.
“We are now expecting police officers.
A statement and explanation were written.
We just finished with the doctors.
The conclusion will be later.
Once hospitalized, it means that the state of health is unsatisfactory, ”said Kravtsov.
The headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed the information that as a result of the fight, two victims were taken to the hospital, and an inspection was initiated upon the incident.
At the same time, they stated that the third participant was detained.
According to a TASS source, it was Yandiyev, who later refused to testify and received a document obliging him to report to the police.
As the agency reported, doctors expect to operate on Kharitonov on November 14.
According to Kravtsov, he will spend at least ten days in the hospital.
However, the lawyer did not give a forecast as to whether the fighter will be able to continue his career.
"Career?
You know, no one has talked about this yet.
This question was not raised.
The main thing for us now is his health.
He was admitted to the hospital for at least ten days.
Minimum, ”the lawyer emphasized.
Kharitonov fought his last fight at Bellator in November last year.
Then he won a two-round victory over Briton Linton Wassell.
At the same time, he has the right to participate in tournaments under the auspices of other promotional organizations.
So, in February, the Russian won the World Total Kombat Federation (WTKF) heavyweight title by defeating Brazilian Fernando Rodriguez.
And a week ago he knocked out Briton Oli Thompson at the Parus Fight Championship MMA in Dubai.
The main achievement of Yandiyev, who represented the middle weight category, is the signing of a contract with the Absolute Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2018.
In September of the same year, he was defeated by American Jordan Johnson at UFC Fight Night 136. After that, the fighter no longer entered the octagon on a professional level.
In total, he has nine victories in various promotions.
In 2016, Yandiev got into an online squabble with the famous MMA fighter Vladimir Mineev after he urged him to end his career.
The athletes exchanged barbs, and Adam even challenged his opponent to a fight.
However, the conflict did not go beyond social networks.