On Sunday, at 3:49 a.m., 25-year-old Fight Nights Moscow featherweight champion Mirzaev allegedly punched 19-year-old business student Ivan Agafonov in the face at point-blank range, causing him to fall headfirst onto the concrete. The incident happened outside of popular night club Garage, where the fighter was reportedly a regular guest. The two had gotten into an argument about a girl, according to eyewitness accounts published by popular news website LifeNews.ru.
Agafonov was admitted to a hospital, where he reportedly fell into a coma hours later. He died Thursday of cerebral hemorrhage. Relatives of the deceased are also putting part of the blame on the staff of the Municipal Clinical Hospital No. 1 in Moscow. According to a report by major Russian TV channel NTV, the young man could not get medical treatment for a few hours before he fell into the coma.
Mirzaev was interrogated and reportedly arrested by the Moscow police on Friday. The maximum sentence for great bodily harm resulting in death is 15 years in Russia.
Nicknamed “Black Tiger,” Mirzaev recently stopped former Sengoku featherweight champion Masanori Kanehara in the main event of Fight Nights “Battle of Moscow 4” on July 7.
The fighter’s head coach, Kamil Gadzhiev, told LifeNews.ru that he felt sorry for the deceased man.
“I am very shocked and can’t do anything but hope that the investigation will be objective and careful,” Gadzhiev said. “This is a terrible coincidence. A great tragedy for both. I offer my sincere condolences to the family of Ivan. I can only say that Rasul never knowingly could kill a man.”
Alexei Zhernakov, vice president of RusFighters Sport Club, explained to Sherdog.com in a text message that he was equally shocked by the situation.
“I have known Rasul for about two years,” he said. “He has always been a very nice and cheerful guy, as well as a very diligent, goal-seeking sportsman who achieved everything through hard work. This is a great tragedy, resulting in one young man being dead and the other ruining his life.”
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