AMC Fight Nights
| Current season, competition or edition: Current sports event 2022 in AMC Fight Nights | |
| File:AMC Fight Nights Logo.jpg | |
| Sport | Mixed martial arts |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Kamil Gadzhiev, Amir Muradov |
| Owner | Amir Muradov |
| Country | Russia |
| Headquarters | Moscow |
| Official website | http://www.fightnights.ru |
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.
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
[edit | edit source]Founding of Fight Nights Global
[edit | edit source]The 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.
2010–2015: early years
[edit | edit source]Initially, 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
[edit | edit source]In 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
[edit | edit source]In 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
[edit | edit source]In 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
[edit | edit source]Fight 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 | edit source]- 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
[edit | edit source]Mixed martial arts
[edit | edit source]| Division | Champion | Since | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight | Vacant | ||
| Light Heavyweight | Russia Vagab Vagabov | October 16, 2021 | 1 |
| Middleweight | Russia Vladimir Mineev | September 9, 2020 | 1 |
| Welterweight | Russia Dmitry Bikrev | April 6, 2019 | 4 |
| Lightweight | Russia Alexander Sarnavskiy | February 23, 2024 | 0 |
| Featherweight | Vacant | ||
| Bantamweight | Kazakhstan Sabit Zhusupov | October 14, 2022 | 1 |
| Flyweight | Vacant |
Championship history
[edit | edit source]Heavyweight Championship
[edit | edit source]over 93 kg (over 205 lb)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ponomarev vacated the title when he signed for ACA. [11] | ||||
| 3 | Russia 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 | Russia 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 | Russia 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
[edit | edit source]93 kg (205 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | Russia 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 | Armenia 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 | Ukraine Nikita Krylov | FNG 87 Rostov-on-Don, Russia |
May 19, 2018 | |
| 1 | Brazil Fábio Maldonado def. Kurban Omarov |
FNG 73 Kaspiysk, Russia |
September 4, 2017 | |
Middleweight Championship
[edit | edit source]84 kg (185 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interim | Russia Dmitriy Aryshev def. Irwing Machado [12] |
AMC Fight Nights 122 Moscow, Russia |
November 10, 2023 | |
| Current | Russia 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 | Russia Roman Kopylov | FNG 85 Moscow, Russia |
March 30, 2018 | 1. def. Yasubey Enomoto at FNG 91 on Dec 27, 2018 |
| 1 | Russia Abusupyan Alikhanov def. Khalid Murtazaliev |
FNG 66 Kaspiysk, Russia |
May 21, 2017 | |
Welterweight Championship
[edit | edit source]77 kg (170 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | Russia 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 | Kazakhstan 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
[edit | edit source]70 kg (155 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | Russia Alexander Sarnavskiy |
AMC Fight Nights 123 Moscow, Russia |
February 23, 2024 | |
| 4 | Russia 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 | Azerbaijan 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 | Russia Akhmed Aliev | FNG 83 Moscow, Russia |
February 22, 2018 | |
| 1 | Russia 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
[edit | edit source]66 kg (145 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khabibulin vacated the title when he signed for ACA. [13] | ||||
| 3 | Russia Gleb Khabibulin def. Arkadiy Osipyan |
AMC FN 115 Sochi, Russia |
October 14, 2022 | |
| Mukhamed Eminov vacated the title when he tested free agency. | ||||
| 2 | Russia 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 | Russia 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
[edit | edit source]61 kg (135 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | Kazakhstan 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 | Russia 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 | Russia 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
[edit | edit source]57 kg (125 lbs)
| No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vartan Asatryan vacated the title when he signed for ACA. [15] | ||||
| 5 | Russia 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 | Armenia 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 | Kazakhstan Zhalgas Zhumagulov | FNG 88 Astana, Kazakhstan |
August 31, 2018 | 1. def. Ali Bagautinov at FNG 95 on October 19, 2019 |
| 2 | Russia Tagir Ulanbekov | FNG 76 Moscow, Russia |
October 8, 2017 | |
| 1 | Russia Vartan Asatryan def. Zhalgas Zhumagulov |
FNG 65 Astana, Kazakhstan |
May 19, 2017 | |
Women's Bantamweight Championship
[edit | edit source]61 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 | Georgia (country) Liana Jojua def. Marina Mokhnatkina |
FNG 83 Moscow, Russia |
February 22, 2018 | |
Notable fighters
[edit | edit source]This is a list of fighters who currently compete and have competed in the past for Fight Nights Global:
Mixed Martial Arts
[edit | edit source]- Brazil Ildemar Alcântara
- Russia Sultan Aliev
- Belarus Andrei Arlovski
- Russia Ali Bagautinov
- Brazil Diego Brandão
- Russia Julia Berezikova
Rich Crunkilton- Russia Fedor Emelianenko
Yasubey Enomoto- Mexico Efrain Escudero
- Brazil Maiquel Falcão
- Russia Vener Galiev
Peter Graham- Michael Graves
- Mike Hayes
- Russia Ali Isayev
- Poland Joanna Jędrzejczyk
- Tony Johnson
- Brazil Ivan Jorge
- Japan Masanori Kanehara
- Russia Nikita Krylov
- Belarus Alexei Kudin
- Russia Murad Machaev
- Russia Ruslan Magomedov
- Georgia (country) Levan Makashvili
- Brazil Fábio Maldonado
- Danny Martinez
- Derrick Mehmen
- Russia Vitaly Minakov
- Russia Vladimir Mineev
- Russia Rasul Mirzaev
- Russia Marina Mokhnatkina
- Tyson Nam
- Emanuel Newton
- Brazil Diego Nunes
- Netherlands Valentijn Overeem
- Brazil Rousimar Palhares
- Czech Republic Viktor Pešta
Trevor Prangley- Brett Rogers
- Eddie Sanchez
- Russia Alexander Sarnavskiy
- Brazil Fabiano Scherner
- Russia Alexander Shlemenko
- Russia Kirill Sidelnikov
- Brazil Antônio Silva
- Brazil Elias Silvério
- Thailand Chommanee Sor Taehiran
- Cameroon Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
- Dominique Steele
- Armenia Akop Stepanyan
- Tim Sylvia
- Russia Michail Tsarev
- Russia Albert Tumenov
- Russia Shamil Zavurov
Kickboxing
[edit | edit source]- Russia Dzhabar Askerov
- Suriname Redouan Cairo
- Armenia Gago Drago
- Belarus Andrey Gerasimchuk
- Armenia Karapet Karapetyan
- Russia Batu Khasikov
- Netherlands Albert Kraus
- Russia Vladimir Mineev
- Russia Alexei Papin
- Russia Ramazan Ramazanov
- Cameroon Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
- Russia Alexander Stetsurenko
- Warren Stevelmans
Mike Zambidis
References
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