Frodo, Holobaugh, & Dez Green set to compete in Russian MMA Grand Prix

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s MMA hobby will attempt a new ambitious project this weekend when they host the first event of their Akhmat MMA Grand Prix series. The first show is set for March 12 in Grozny, Chechnya and will feature an intriguing line-up of foriegn fighters to complement the Russian and North Caucasus contingency on the card.

The first Grand Prix event will feature the quarter-final round of the flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight tournaments. The card will feature the likes of WSOF bantamweight champion Magomed Bibulatov, who is a representative of the Akhmat MMA organization and fight club, as well as the likes of Desmond Green, Kurt Holobaugh, Frodo Khasbulaev, and more.

The entire fight card is available below:

Lightweight Grand Prix [Quarter-finals]
Desmond Green vs. David Cubas
Rodrigo Caporal vs. Shamil Zavurov
Alexis Mantykivi vs. Zurab Betergaraev
Ryan Quinn vs. Alexander Shabliy
Featherweight Grand Prix [Quarter-finals]
Magomedrasul “Frodo” Khasbulaev vs. Kurt Holobaugh
Marcos dos Santos vs. Khunkar Osmaev
Kevin Petshi vs. Salman Zhamaldaev
Alexander Matmuratov vs. Otto Rodrigues
Bantamweight Grand Prix [Quarter-finals]
Diego Davella vs. Abdulrakhman Dudaev
Diego Marlon vs. Said Nurmagomedov
Janne Elonen vs. Lemmy Krušič
Johnny Frachey vs. Luis Nogueira
Flyweight Grand Prix [Quarter-finals]
Magomed Bibulatov vs. Irmeson Oliveira
Chris Miah vs. Jarred Brooks
Oscar Dolcini vs. Yunus Evloev
Anthony Leone vs. Shamil Magomedov

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About the author

Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.