Rad-ical changes: MMA Union of Russia boss wants end to ‘freak fights’ that ‘discredit the sport’, regulation of fighting leagues

The boss of Russia's MMA Union has revealed plans to reform the sport, aiming for official Ministry of Sports status and criticizing farce fights like the showbiz scrap held between an actor and a politician earlier this month.

Flamboyant thespian Nikita Dzhigurda stalked State Duma deputy Vitaly Milonov around a cage in Moscow two weeks ago, staging a bizarre contest in which the rules were unclear and controversial Milonov was entering with little preparation, his trainer confirmed afterwards.

The stunt continued a much-maligned trend in combat sports for contests with little sporting merit, including a draw between Russian MMA great Alexander Emelianenko and blogger Artem Tarasov and, on a more high-profile stage, YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul's batterings of ex-NBA star Nate Robinson and former UFC fighter Jake Askren in rings.

Social media sensations Logan Paul and KSI have twice been involved in huge-selling fights despite being boxing rookies, and there were concerns after former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, 58, suffered a first-round clobbering at the hands of ex-UFC fighter Vitor Belfort last month.

Radmir Gabdullin, the President of the MMA Union of Russia, does not want to see more mismatches in MMA.

"I believe that freak fights and so-called 'pop MMA' do not develop but dishonor MMA, introducing the wrong values ​​into our sport," he told RBC, speaking at a time when the death of a bare-knuckle fighter following a brutal early knockout as part of a long losing streak has also heightened the debate around matchmaking and safety.

"This is an undesirable experience, and we in the MMA Union of Russia do not support initiatives that literally discredit our sport."

As part of his plans, Gabdullin wants laws to be made that prevent tournaments from being considered MMA or sporting events if they are not part of a recognized schedule following official rules.

“Unfortunately, the current legislation does not provide us with the full opportunity to influence the holding of major tournaments in Russia by professional leagues," he explained, adding that any involvement from bookmakers should also be scrutinized.

“For our part, we will call on the prosecutor's office and the FAS [Federal Antimonopoly Service] to pay attention to this. Law-respecting bookmakers are legally prohibited from displaying their logo and accepting bets on such events.

"First of all, a regulation will be developed so that the judges of the MMA Union of Russia do not have the opportunity to serve illegitimate tournaments, risking losing their accreditation.

"This also applies to fist fights, which quickly 'changed their shoes' in MMA in order to receive funding from bookmakers."

UFC icon Khabib Nurmagomedov is among those working to make MMA an Olympic sport, and Gabdullin hopes the professional discipline will receive official recognition in Russia.

His ambitions include regulating the activities of professional leagues, new doping control measures and a broadening of age groups.

“We will carry out work on the inclusion of professional MMA in the system of the Ministry of Sports and assign sports titles to professionals," said Gabdullin.

"In addition, documents were sent for inclusion... of new ages [12-to-15]. Ranks will also be assigned here and official tournaments will be held, which we will broadcast on our MMA multimedia platform."