Absolute Championship Akhmat President Alexey Yatsenko has set the
dates for the first two events of his promotion in the new
year.
ACA 117 will take place on Feb. 12 and ACA 118 will take place on
Feb. 26. Despite
facing heavy sanctions from the United States Department of the
Treasury, ACA is picking up the pace: nine events are planned for
the first half of 2021 alone — ACA held 13 events during the
entirety of 2020.
In December, U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign
Assets Control (OFAC) placed sanctions on Chechen dictator Ramzan
Kadryov “for serious human rights abuses,” including kidnapping,
torture and killing of those in the LGBTI community as well as
journalists and political activists. As a result, ACA, which is
owned by Kadryov, is blocked from doing business with anyone in the
United States. “OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all
transactions by U.S. person or within (or transiting) the United
States that involve the property or interests in property,” read a
statement from the organization. In short, American fighters will
not be allowed to compete for ACA in future events.
ACA 117 will be headlined by a welterweight clash between Russia’s
Ali
Bagov and Brazil’s Elias
Silverio, while ACA 118 features a title bout between reigning
welterweight champion Murad
Abdulaev and Abubakar Vagayev.
Due to quarantine restrictions, all nine upcoming events will be
held in Russia. However, the exact location is still unknown.
According to Yatsenko, negotiations are underway with various
venues. It is also not yet known whether spectators will be
admitted to these events.
Bagov had a seven-bout winning streak halted in a five-round
decision defeat to Abdulaev at ACA 110 this past September.
Silverio, a five-time UFC veteran, was victorious in his first
three ACA appearances before dropping a decision to Gadzhimurad
Khiramagomedov on Nov. 6.
Abdulaev defeated Vagaev via second-round KO in their first meeting
in October 2018, a victory that allowed him to claim the World
Fighting Championship Akhmat crown. Vagaev has since won three
straight contests under the ACA banner to establish himself as the
No. 1 contender for Abdulaev’s 170-pound crown.