Ultimate Fighting Championship and Professional Fighters League veteran Rashid
Magomedov is returning to compete in his home country of
Russia.
Magomedov (23-5-1) was originally billed to face Eduard
Vartanyan in his first outing with Absolute Championship Akhmat, but Magomedov was
forced withdraw from that bout due to health reasons. ACA officials
told Sherdog on Thursday that Magomedov will now be taking on
fellow ACA newcomer Artem
Damkovsky (23-11). The two will square off at lightweight at
ACA
113, which will be held on Nov. 6 in Moscow.
Magomedov had competed six times under the UFC banner, losing only
once to current top contender Beneil
Dariush. Leaving the promotion of his own accord in 2018 to
compete for the PFL with visions of winning the million-dollar
prize, things did not go as smoothly for him. The 2018 season saw
“Gorets” reach the 2018 championships on the strength of two wins
and a draw with Will Brooks.
The Russian came up short to Natan
Schulte for the $1 million check, so he re-entered the
tournament the following year. His 2019 season was even less
successful, as he won once against Loik
Radzhabov only to get outmuscled by Nate
Andrews and Akhmed
Aliev to eject him from the tournament. In 10 of his 12 fights
in the UFC and PFL, Rashid went the distance. The last man he
defeated was the previously unbeaten Tajikistan native Radzhabov,
who maintained a perfect record with 11 victories without a loss
before meeting Magomedov.
Damkovsky is one of the more renowned Belarusian fighters, with a
majority of his bouts dating back to 2010 taking place in M-1 Global. A pro since 2006, Damkovsky has faced a
litany of top names over the years including Damir
Ismagulov, Mairbek
Taisumov, Daniel
Weichel and Alexander
Butenko. Of note, Damkovsky knocked out Taisumov in 2010, but
the win was later avenged as Taisumov tapped him out three years
later. The winner of this bout between the 36-year-old Magomedov
and the 37-year-old Damkovsky will earn his 24th career
victory.