Bellator MMA has picked up one more extremely
talented wrestler to bolster its ranks.
Per a press release issued on Thursday, the promotion has announced
that it has signed Kadi Magomedov, also known as
Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau or Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov.
Magomedov earned the Olympic silver medal in freestyle wrestling at
the 2020 Summer Olympics at 74 kg (162.8 pounds), beating the likes
of America’s Kyle Dake and Italian wrestler Frank Chamizo to take
second. Magomedov fell short against Russia’s Zaurbek Sidakov in
the gold-medal match, with Sidakov representing the “Russian
Olympic Committee” due to state-sanctioned doping violations.
The silver medalist will be competing at the featherweight division
in the Bellator ranks, and he will be skipping the amateur circuit
entirely to make his first MMA fight a professional one. The
28-year-old, who is an International Master of Sports in freestyle
wrestling as well, will be training under the auspices of the
Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov School in Dagestan, Russia.
“Transitioning to MMA has been a goal of mine for many years, and
this is the perfect time to start my career,” Magomedov said in a
statement. “I train with many of the top fighters at the
Nurmagomedov School and I learn many things from them every day
that will help me win a world championship at Bellator, the best
fight promotion in the world.”
Magomedov has trained with the likes of Khabib
Nurmagomedov and Islam
Makhachev over the years. Born in Dagestan, Magomedov changed
his citizenship to Belarus in 2020 and has represented the nation
ever since – this resulted in his name change to the aforementioned
Kadzimahamedau from Kadimagomedov. His debut date has not been
declared, but Bellator expects that he will compete before the end
of 2023.