On New Year’s Eve, renowned Russian MMA fighter Rasul Mirzaev was
assaulted in his home by three unknown assailants who proceeded to shoot, batter and strangle him prior to fleeing the scene of the crime. While the fighter survived the attack and has since been hospitalized, new details have emerged on one of the attackers, as well as the reasons why they pursued Mirzaev, the latter of which involves UFC fighter Artem Lobov.
According to reports from
MK’s Alexey Safonov, who spoke to members of Mirzaev’s family as well as his manager Kamil Gadzhiev, the incident began in December shortly after Lobov visited Moscow to attend the Fight Nights 57 tournament. Fellow UFC fighter Ali Bagautinov, who was the recipient of Lobov’s hospitality in Belfast the previous month, wanted to repay the favor by showing the fighter a good time while he was in Russia.
Following a late meal at a restaurant, Bagautinov, Lobov and Mirzaev proceeded towards the ‘Garage’ nightclub where their group expanded significantly. According to the
report, drunk Dagestanis aware of Lobov’s friendship with Conor McGregor approached him and began to complain about the Irishman’s lack of interest in a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov. While the discussion died down relatively quickly, a fight broke out between Mirzaev and the Dagestanis who confronted Lobov. While security eventually intervened, the wheels had already been set in motion. Within a matter of days, Mirzaev was beaten within an inch of his life in his own apartment.
Shortly following the attack, Mirzaev was rushed to hospital, where he underwent surgery to remove the bullets from his body. He was declared in
stable condition thereafter and remains in hospital. Leaked video footage also confirmed that the assailants robbed Mirzaev’s apartment and stole jewelry and cash before fleeing the premise.