American MMA fighter ‘refuses to participate in Russian tournament due to US sanctions’

US MMA fighter Brett Cooper from the Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA) promotion has reportedly withdrawn from a major tournament in Moscow because of sanctions imposed by the US and UK.

The welterweight fighter was set to face Beslan Isaev on December 18, and even made weight before the bout, before deciding to pull out of the tournament.

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The ACA promotion, which has headquarters in Grozny, Chechen Republic, has been backlisted by the US along with other Chechen sports organizations.

“Brett Cooper made weight, but then announced his withdrawal after consulting with his lawyers. It was the athlete’s personal decision to refuse fighting because of the US and Great Britain’s sanctions policy. The promotion will have no restrictions regarding participation of US and British fighters,” ACA president Alexey Yatsenko said.

Last week, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued its latest set of sanctions against the Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, for what they claimed to be “serious violations of human rights.”

In addition to Kadyrov, the OFAC also sanctioned sports organizations, including the Akhmat football and fight clubs and Russian MMA promotion, ACA.