Fight Club Akhmat (FCA) is a professional sports club from the Chechen Republic and has training bases in the regions of Russia. It was founded in 2014 and named after the first president of the Chechen Republic in Russia — Akhmat Kadyrov.
 | |
| Est. | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Ramzan Kadyrov |
| Primary owners | Ramzan Kadyrov[1] |
| Primary trainers | Murad Bichuev (head coach)[2] |
| Location | Grozny, Chechnya, Russia |
| Website | https://rsk-akhmat.com |
History
editThe Akhmat Sports Club was founded in mid-2014.[3] It was named after the first President of Chechnya, Russia, Akhmat Kadyrov.[4] The sports club belongs to the administration of the Chechen Republic.[5] Ramzan Kadyrov is considered the owner of the club.[1] Initially, the club was created to develop boxing talents. In time, the club gained momentum and began to grow and by the end of 2016 was considered to be one of the main sports clubs in Russia. Towards the end of 2016, the club's management decided to develop mixed martial arts (MMA) along with boxing.[3]
In December 2018, Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) leadership officially announced the merger of ACB and World Fighting Championship Akhmat into a single promotion called Absolute Championship Akhmat.[6] Alexey Yatsenko, the former head of the Russian fighting organization Tech-KREP FC, became the president of the newly united promotion.[7]
Controversies
editIn July 2017, HBO's Real Sports released a documentary that revealed how Kadyrov uses the club to train members of the Kadyrovites although only a handful of them went on to become professional fighters.[8]
In 2021, a Siberian journalist, Andrei Afanasyev was attacked outside his apartment by unknown assailants after investigating the club.[9]
In 2022, the club was mentioned in a Telegram post by Ramzan Kadyrov that was addressed to Elon Musk stating he is offering to train him there to fight Vladimir Putin.[10]
Fighters
editLiterature
edit- С-А. М. Аслаханов, Х. Х. Хизриев (2015). Физическая культура и спорт Чечни: истоки и современность. Москва: «Перо». pp. 120–121. ISBN 978-500086-997-0.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Harris, Scott. "Ramzan Kadyrov: The Most Dangerous Man in MMA Is Not a Fighter". Bleacher Report.
- ^ "Тренер "Ахмата": Александр Емельяненко заявил о желании вернуться в Чечню". stav.aif.ru (in Russian). 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
- ^ a b "Рамзан Кадыров, поздравил клуб "Ахмат" с победой на церемонии "Звезда бокса"" (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-10-28.
- ^ "Бойцовский клуб "Ахмат" потратил за год 69,4 млн бюджетных рублей". Общая Газета (in Russian). 2021-06-07. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ "Тренер «Ахмата»: «Звонил друг Емельяненко, говорил, что Саша хочет вернуться в Чечню» - 19 октября 2020 - Sport24". sport24.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-11-03.
- ^ "Рамзан Кадыров: "Объединим "Беркут" и "Ахмат" в одну лигу и обойдем Bellator"". sport-express.ru (in Russian). 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ "Состоялось слияние WFCA и Absolute Championship Berkut | Информационное агентство "Грозный-Информ"". www.grozny-inform.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ Zidan, Karim (2022-03-23). "Chechnya: Russia's Special Military Training Ground". New Lines Magazine. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
- ^ Zidan, Karim (2021-06-14). "Journalist attacked while investigating Kadyrov's Akhmat MMA fight club". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
- ^ Bowman, Verity (2022-03-16). "Chechen leader challenges 'effeminate' Elon Musk to train at fight club if he wants to take on Putin". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
- ^ Узел, Кавказский. "Russian fighter Alexander Emelianenko declares himself a fighter of Kadyrov's Club "Akhmat"". Caucasian Knot. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
- ^ Times, C. S. M. (2022-03-21). "Rising Russian MMA queen tells US rival 'you're next' after taunts". CSM Times. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
- ^ "UFC champ Fabricio Werdum signs on as ambassador for Chechnya's Akhmat Fight Club". MMA Junkie. 2015-10-10. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
- ^ Ranjan, Soumya (2023-09-24). ""I represent my team" - Khamzat Chimaev unites with Chechenya warlord Ramzan Kadyrov amid backlash over Sweden to UAE move". FirstSportz. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
- ^ a b c d "Why the UFC's 'sportswashing' of Chechnya's dictator is a problem". the Guardian. 2018-09-29. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
- ^ "Maxim Grishin - Russian mixed martial arts fighter". style-people.com. Retrieved 2022-03-23.