AMC Fight Nights (or Fight Nights Global before 2021) is a Russian mixed martial arts organization that previously hosted K-1 and other martial arts events. It is one of the largest promotion companies in the world[1] and features some of the top-ranking fighters of the sport.
Current season, competition or edition: 2022 in AMC Fight Nights | |
 | |
| Sport | Mixed martial arts |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Kamil Gadzhiev, Amir Muradov |
| Owner(s) | Amir Muradov |
| Country | Russia |
| Headquarters | Moscow |
| Official website | http://www.fightnights.ru |
Fight Nights Global produces events worldwide, with the first one being held in 2010 in Moscow. As of 2018, Fight Nights Global has held over 80 events in different cities: Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, Rostov-On-Don, Perm, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Sochi, Bryansk, Kostroma, Nizhnevartovsk, Kaspiysk, Astana, Elista, Grozny, Dushanbe, Minsk and more.
In different years the company's shows featured Fedor Emelianenko, Batu Khasikov, Vitaly Minakov, Rasul Mirzaev, Ali Bagautinov, Vladimir Mineev, Andrei Arlovski, Alexander Shlemenko, Shamil Zavurov, Murad Machaev, Gasan Umalatov, Antônio Silva, Viktor Pešta, Fábio Maldonado and many other mixed martial artists.
History
editFounding of Fight Nights Global
editThe company was founded in 2010 by a Russian athlete, businessman and sports ambassador Kamil Gadzhiev, together with a multiple time world kickboxing champion Batu Khasikov, a television producer Sangadji Tarbaev, the "SHANDESIGN" studio head Sergei Shanovich and the Goldman Sachs Russia CEO Sergey Arsenyev. At that time the company was called FIGHT NIGHTS and later rebranded as Eurasia Fight Nights (EFN).[citation needed]
2010–2015: early years
editInitially, Fight Nights Global (at that time called FIGHT NIGHTS) fights were held in a ring under MMA and K-1 rules. The first event featured Lightweight Grand Prix, which was won by Murad Machaev. In the main event Batu Khasikov knocked out Ricardo Fernandes. Rasul Mirzaev defeated Marat Pekov via judges decision and became the first FIGHT NIGHTS champion in the Featherweight category.
The first high-profile event happened in November 2011 in Moscow and featured the Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis facing Batu Khasikov. Batu won by TKO in the first round and broke his opponent's jaw.
In 2012, the company held seven major events with the final one being "FIGHT NIGHTS: Battle of Moscow 9" on December 16. The show featured the debut of the UFC ex-champion Andrei Arlovski. The Belarusian fighter defeated Mike Hayes from the United States via a unanimous decision.
Vitaly Minakov, Fight Nights Global promotion's household name, signed a contract with Bellator MMA in 2012.
In 2013, Vitaly won the Bellator heavyweight Grand Prix tournament and then won the Bellator MMA belt by knocking out Alexander Volkov in the first round. In April 2013, Vitaly became the first FIGHT NIGHTS fighter to make his way to the UFC. The next one was Ali Bagautinov who competed in the Flyweight division and signed a contract with the UFC after a victory over the experienced Japanese mixed martial artist Seiji Ozuka.
In June 2013 the company started using an octagonal cage that is popular in the MMA industry. In November 2013, the company hosted the first event outside of Russia, “FIGHT NIGHTS: Battle on the Nyamiha" at Minsk-Arena, Belarus. The main attraction of the night was the home performance by Andrei Arlovski.
Batu Khasikov had his last professional fight in March 2014 at “Fight Nights: Battle Of Moscow 15” where he again fought Mike Zambidis. The fight went all five rounds, Khasikov was the victor. Vladimir Mineev debuted in MMA at “Fight Nights: Battle Of Moscow 17”. The final tournament of 2014 featured Alexander Shlemenko vs. Yasubey Enomoto.
2015–2016: rise in popularity, rebranding and Summa acquisition
editIn 2015 the company hosted four major shows (Fight Nights: Battle Of Moscow 19, Fight Nights: Sochi, Fight Nights: Dagestan, Fight Nights: Petersburg) and eighteen selection tournaments “Fight club FIGHT NIGHTS".
Vitaly Minakov used his interim in Bellator MMA to return to the Fight Nights Global promotion. From July 2015 to June 2016 the four-time Sambo world champion fought in 4 matches, winning early victories over Adam Maciejewski (Poland), Geronimo dos Santos (Brazil), Josh Copeland (USA) and Peter Graham (Australia).
In 2016 the company was bought by Summa Group, a conglomerate that invested in port logistics, engineering, construction, telecommunications, sports, oil and gas that was founded by Dagestani billionaire Ziyavudin Magomedov.[2] Kamil Gadzhiev, who is also the Vice-President of Moscow MMA Federation, became the president of the newly established Fight Nights Global. Backed by substantial investments of Summa Group, 2016 was the year of a massive breakthrough for FNG on the Russian market.
Fight Nights Global 50 (June 17, 2016) in Saint Petersburg featured a fight card headlined by Fedor Emelianenko. 4 years after retirement, "The Last Emperor" decided to come back to professional sports in the Fight Nights Global cage versus one of the most uncompromising strikers of the UFC, Fabio Maldonado. The tough match ended with a split decision win for the Russian athlete. The event was broadcast worldwide via UFC Fight Pass.
2017–present: global growth
editIn 2017 Fight Nights Global determined champions in all eight weight categories among men and inked plenty of international talent to the roster including Rousimar Palhares, Josh Hill, Tyson Nam and the returning Ali Bagautinov to multi-fight contracts.[3]
The company hosted 25 events, discovering new cities and countries, including Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan, Dushanbe in Tajikistan, Omsk, Penza, Tolyatti, Surgut, Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg, Bryansk and Ulan-Ude in Russia.
Fight Night Global president Kamil Gadzhiev announced that the promotion will introduce the Anti-Doping Control System.[4]
Fight Nights Global 68, which took place during the International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg, showcased Vitaly Minakov vs. Antonio Silva.[5] Later, Novosibirsk hosted Fight Nights Global 69, where Ali Bagautinov defeated Pedro Nobre.[6] In September, the notorious Fight Nights Global 73 took place. It featured the Russian-Brazilian confrontations Shamil Amirov vs. Rousimar Palhares, Kurban Omarov vs. Fabio Maldonado and Akhmed Aliev vs. Diego Brandao in the main event, which ended with a scandal.[7]
Other events of the year were Fight Nights Global 77, where newly-signed Nikita Krylov KO’ed Emanuel Newton[8] and Fight Nights Global 82, where the undefeated heavyweight Vitaly Minakov TKO’ed the top fighter from the USA, Tony Johnson.
In 2018 the company announced more international shows, including events in Brazil, USA and EU.
Rename to AMC Fight Nights Global
editIn 2020 November Fight Nights Global owner Kamil Gadzhiev sold his promotion to AMC Company owner Amir Muradov. After that they renamed the promotion to AMC Fight Nights Global.[9][10]
Rules
editFight Nights Global rules are based on the Russian MMA regulations. Elbow strikes on the ground are legal. Referees have the right to raise fighters in a stand up in the absence of activity. If the fight is a draw, additional rounds are not assigned. A typical event lasts five hours and features 11 bouts. Bouts last 3 rounds 5 minutes each and champion bouts or main event bouts are 5 rounds 5 minutes each. The championship features 8 male and 2 female weight categories: 57 kg, 61 kg, 66 kg, 70 kg, 77 kg, 84 kg, 93 kg and over 93 kg.[citation needed]
List of AMC Fight Nights events
edit- By year
- 2010 in Fight Nights Global
- 2011 in Fight Nights Global
- 2012 in Fight Nights Global
- 2016 in Fight Nights Global
- 2017 in Fight Nights Global
- 2018 in Fight Nights Global
- 2019 in Fight Nights Global
- 2020 in Fight Nights Global
- 2021 in AMC Fight Nights
- 2022 in AMC Fight Nights
- Scheduled events
| AMC Fight Nights | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Event | Date | Venue | Location | |||
- Events by date
Current champions
editMixed martial arts
edit| Division | Champion | Since | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight | Vacant | ||
| Light Heavyweight |  Vagab Vagabov
|
October 16, 2021 | 1 |
| Middleweight | Vladimir Mineev
|
September 9, 2020 | 1 |
| Welterweight | Dmitry Bikrev
|
April 6, 2019 | 4 |
| Lightweight | Alexander Sarnavskiy
|
February 23, 2024 | 0 |
| Featherweight | Vacant | ||
| Bantamweight |  Sabit Zhusupov
|
October 14, 2022 | 1 |
| Flyweight | Vacant |
Championship history
editHeavyweight Championship
editover 93 kg (over 205 lb)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ponomarev vacated the title when he signed for ACA. [11] | ||||
| 3 | Grigoriy Ponomarev
|
AMC Fight Nights 115 Sochi, Russia |
October 14, 2022 | 1. def. Yusup Shuaev at AMC Fight Nights 119 on March 18, 2023 |
| 2 | Yusup Shuaev def. Grigoriy Ponomarev |
AMC Fight Nights 110 Astrakhan, Russia |
March 25, 2022 | |
| Sergei Pavlovich vacated the title when he signed for UFC. | ||||
| 1 | Sergei Pavlovich def. Mikhail Mokhnatkin |
FNG 68 Saint Petersburg, Russia |
June 2, 2017 | 1. def. Kirill Sidelnikov at FNG 79 on November 19, 2017 |
Light Heavyweight Championship
edit93 kg (205 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | Vagab Vagabov
|
AMC Fight Nights 105 Sochi, Russia |
October 16, 2021 | 1. def. David Barkhudaryan at AMC Fight Nights 113 on July 15, 2022 |
| 4 |  Hasan Yousefi
|
AMC Fight Nights 102 Krasnoyarsk, Russia |
June 18, 2021 | |
| 3 |  Armen Petrosyan def. Artur Aliskerov |
MMA Festival Rostov-on-Don, Russia |
August 28, 2020 | 1. def. Dmitry Minakov at FNG Steel Heart XI on January 22, 2021 |
| Nikita Krylov vacated the title when he signed for UFC. | ||||
| 2 | Nikita Krylov
|
FNG 87 Rostov-on-Don, Russia |
May 19, 2018 | |
| 1 |  Fábio Maldonadodef. Kurban Omarov |
FNG 73 Kaspiysk, Russia |
September 4, 2017 | |
Middleweight Championship
edit84 kg (185 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interim | Dmitriy Aryshev def. Irwing Machado [12] |
AMC Fight Nights 122 Moscow, Russia |
November 10, 2023 | |
| Current | Vladimir Mineev def. Dauren Ermekov |
FNG / GFC Moscow, Russia |
September 9, 2020 | 1. def. Magomed Ismailov at AMC Fight Nights 105 on October 16, 2021 |
| Roman Kopylov vacated the title when he signed for UFC. | ||||
| 2 | Roman Kopylov
|
FNG 85 Moscow, Russia |
March 30, 2018 | 1. def. Yasubey Enomoto at FNG 91 on Dec 27, 2018 |
| 1 | Abusupyan Alikhanov def. Khalid Murtazaliev |
FNG 66 Kaspiysk, Russia |
May 21, 2017 | |
Welterweight Championship
edit77 kg (170 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | Dmitry Bikrev def. Maxim Butorin |
FNG 92 Moscow, Russia |
April 6, 2019 | 1. NC vs. Shamil Amirov at FNG 98 on September 25, 2020 2. def. Goity Dazaev at FNG 100 on April 10, 2021 3. def. Ruslan Kolodko at AMC Fight Nights 113 on July 15, 2022 4. def. Alexey Makhno at AMC Fight Nights 121 on July 14, 2023 |
| Georgiy Kichigin vacated the title when he signed for ONE. | ||||
| 1 | Georgiy Kichigin def. Gadzhimurad Khiramagomedov |
FNG 65 Astana, Kazakhstan |
May 19, 2017 | 1. def. Magomed Nurov at FNG 80 on November 26, 2017 |
Lightweight Championship
edit70 kg (155 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | Alexander Sarnavskiy |
AMC Fight Nights 123 Moscow, Russia |
February 23, 2024 | |
| 4 | Magomed Sulumov def. Akhmed Aliev |
AMC Fight Nights 121 Moscow, Russia |
July 14, 2023 | |
| Nariman Abbasov vacated the title when he tested free agency. | ||||
| 3 |  Nariman Abbasov def. Kuat Khamitov |
FNG 93 Mytishchi, Russia |
April 26, 2019 | 1. def. Mikhail Gogitidze at FNG 98 on September 25, 2020 2. def. Shamil Amirov at AMC Fight Nights 100 on April 10, 2021 3. def. Shamil Zavurov at AMC Fight Nights: Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov Memory Tournament on September 17, 2021 4. def. Marif Piraev at AMC Fight Nights 112 on June 10, 2022 |
| Akhmed Aliev vacated the title when he signed for PFL. | ||||
| 2 | Akhmed Aliev
|
FNG 83 Moscow, Russia |
February 22, 2018 | |
| 1 | Magomedsaygid Alibekov def. Nariman Abbasov |
FNG 56 Vladivostok, Russia |
December 9, 2016 | 1. def. Kuat Khamitov at FNG 63 on April 21, 2017 |
Featherweight Championship
edit66 kg (145 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khabibulin vacated the title when he signed for ACA. [13] | ||||
| 3 | Gleb Khabibulin def. Arkadiy Osipyan |
AMC FN 115 Sochi, Russia |
October 14, 2022 | |
| Mukhamed Eminov vacated the title when he tested free agency. | ||||
| 2 | Mukhamed Eminov def. Aleksandr Grozin |
Festival Stepping into Immortality Ekaterinburg, Russia |
March 1, 2020 | 1. def. Muratbek Kasymbay at FNG / GFC on September 9, 2020 2. def. Akhmed Balkizov at FNG 99 on December 25, 2020 3. def. Roman Silagadze at AMC Fight Nights 105 on October 16, 2021 |
| Alexander Matmuratov vacated the title when he signed for ACA. | ||||
| 1 | Alexander Matmuratov def. Ilya Kurzanov |
FNG 62 Moscow, Russia |
March 31, 2017 | 1. def. Evgeniy Ignatiev at FNG 81 on December 15, 2017 |
Bantamweight Championship
edit61 kg (135 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | Sabit Zhusupov
|
AMC FN 115 Sochi, Russia |
October 14, 2022 | 1. def. Wanderley Junior at AMC Fight Nights 122 on November 10, 2023 [14] |
| 3 | Vladimir Egoyan def. Gustavo Erak |
AMC Fight Nights: Sochi Sochi, Russia |
February 23, 2021 | |
| Evgeniy Ignatiev vacated the title when he signed for RCC Boxing Promotions | ||||
| 2 | Evgeniy Ignatiev def. Nikita Boltabaev |
FNG 94 Moscow, Russia |
October 12, 2019 | |
| Tomáš Deák vacated the title when he signed for Oktagon MMA. | ||||
| 1 |  Tomáš Deák def. Nikita Chistyakov |
FNG 75 Moscow, Russia |
October 6, 2017 | 1. def. Sharamazan Chupanov at FNG 84 on March 2, 2018 |
Flyweight Championship
edit57 kg (125 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vartan Asatryan vacated the title when he signed for ACA. [15] | ||||
| 5 | Vartan Asatryan def. Vladimir Alekseev |
AMC Fight Nights 109 Sochi, Russia |
February 23, 2022 | |
| Moris Boleyan vacated the title when he tested free agency. | ||||
| 4 | Moris Boleyan def. Anatoly Kondratyev |
FNG Steel Heart XI Magnitogorsk, Russia |
January 22, 2021 | 1. def. Azizkhan Chorshanbiev at AMC Fight Nights 103 on July 15, 2021 |
| Zhalgas Zhumagulov vacated the title when he signed for UFC. | ||||
| 3 | Zhalgas Zhumagulov
|
FNG 88 Astana, Kazakhstan |
August 31, 2018 | 1. def. Ali Bagautinov at FNG 95 on October 19, 2019 |
| 2 | Tagir Ulanbekov
|
FNG 76 Moscow, Russia |
October 8, 2017 | |
| 1 | Vartan Asatryan def. Zhalgas Zhumagulov |
FNG 65 Astana, Kazakhstan |
May 19, 2017 | |
Women's Bantamweight Championship
edit61 kg (135 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | Vacant | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Liana Jojua vacated the title when she signed for UFC. | ||||
| 1 |  Liana Jojua def. Marina Mokhnatkina |
FNG 83 Moscow, Russia |
February 22, 2018 | |
Notable fighters
editThis is a list of fighters who currently compete and have competed in the past for Fight Nights Global:
Mixed Martial Arts
edit- Ildemar Alcântara
- Sultan Aliev
Andrei Arlovski- Ali Bagautinov
- Diego Brandão
- Julia Berezikova
Rich Crunkilton- Fedor Emelianenko
Yasubey Enomoto
Efrain Escudero- Maiquel Falcão
- Vener Galiev
Peter Graham- Michael Graves
- Mike Hayes
- Ali Isayev
Joanna Jędrzejczyk- Tony Johnson
- Ivan Jorge
Masanori Kanehara- Nikita Krylov
- Alexei Kudin
- Murad Machaev
- Ruslan Magomedov
- Levan Makashvili
- Fábio Maldonado
- Danny Martinez
- Derrick Mehmen
- Vitaly Minakov
- Vladimir Mineev
- Rasul Mirzaev
- Marina Mokhnatkina
- Tyson Nam
- Emanuel Newton
- Diego Nunes
Valentijn Overeem- Rousimar Palhares
Viktor Pešta
Trevor Prangley- Brett Rogers
- Eddie Sanchez
- Alexander Sarnavskiy
- Fabiano Scherner
- Alexander Shlemenko
- Kirill Sidelnikov
- Antônio Silva
- Elias Silvério
Chommanee Sor Taehiran
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou- Dominique Steele
- Akop Stepanyan
- Tim Sylvia
- Michail Tsarev
- Albert Tumenov
- Shamil Zavurov
Kickboxing
edit
References
edit- ^ "Cyrus Fees joins Fight Nights Global". The Underground. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ^ "Banned hockey enforcer gets offer from Russian MMA promotion". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ^ "Fight Nights Global signs Rousimar Palhares, Ali Bagautinov". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ^ "Kamil Gadzhiyev: "FIGHT NIGHTS introduces the system of doping control"". greatest.info. Retrieved 2017-03-21.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Former Bellator MMA Champion Facing Bigfoot Silva At Fight Nights Global Event | Fightful MMA". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ^ DNA, MMA. "Uitslagen : Fight Nights Global 69 : Bagautinov vs. Nobre". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ^ "Diego Brandao leaps over cage in anger at Fight Nights Global 73". FanSided. 2017-09-04. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ^ "Nikta Krylov meets Emanuel Newton at Fight Nights Global 68, promotion's fourth event in 2-week stretch". MMAjunkie. 2017-05-07. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ^ "The owner of AMC Fight Nights advised Shlemenko not to move to the UFC: "This is a step back" - WMMAA". 2022-01-15. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
- ^ "Компания AMC купила организатора боев ММА Fight Nights Global - ТАСС". TACC. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
- ^ "Чемпион AMC Fight Nights в тяжелом весе Пономарев подписал контракт с АСА". mma.metaratings.ru (in Russian). March 28, 2023.
- ^ "Арышев победил Мачадо и стал временным чемпионом AMC Fight Nights в среднем весе". fight.ru (in Russian). November 10, 2023.
- ^ "Чемпион AMC Fight Nights Хабибуллин подписал контракт с ACA". mma.metaratings.ru (in Russian). May 17, 2023.
- ^ "Сабит Жусупов нокаутировал Вандерлея Джуниора и сохранил чемпионский пояс AMC Fight Nights". fight.ru (in Russian). November 10, 2023.
- ^ "Экс-чемпион AMC Fight Nights Асатрян подписал контракт с ACA". mma.metaratings.ru (in Russian). February 8, 2023.