Banned hockey enforcer gets offer from Russian MMA promotion

Inciting mass brawls during Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) games may get you suspended indefinitely from from the league, but it also seemingly makes you…

By: Karim Zidan | 6 years ago
Banned hockey enforcer gets offer from Russian MMA promotion
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Inciting mass brawls during Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) games may get you suspended indefinitely from from the league, but it also seemingly makes you a sought after commodity for MMA promotions in the Russian Federation. This is the case for controversial defensemen Damir Ryspayev, who is currently considering an offer from Fight Nights Global.

Ryspayev, 22, is serving a lifetime ban following a pre-season game in Kazan that saw the defensemen singlehandedly attack the entire opposing team. Once he was satisfied with the chaos caused on the ice, he proceeded to the team bench to fight the rest of the squad. This forced the officials to put a stop to the match just three minutes into the proceedings.

“Ryspayev’s behaviour has nothing to do with hockey and contradicts not only the rules, but also the spirit of our game,” the KHL stated following the match. “Such actions should not be the case not only in matches involving clubs in the KHL, but also in sports in general.”

Prior to his last stand in Kazan, Ryspayev earned 83 penalty minutes in seven games during the 2015 season and 194 penalty minutes in 23 KHL games. Yet despite his physical aggression and issues with discipline and authority, MatchTV confirmed that Fight Nights Global has offered the hockey player an MMA contract.

“I think it’s a great chance to bring together hockey and fighting fans,” Fight Nights president Kamil Gadzhiev stated (h/t RT). “He’s a big star in Kazakhstan.”

Gadzhiev, who is also involved in the administrative affairs of another KHL team (Admiral), suggested that possible opponents for Ryspayev would include Admiral enforcer Samvel Mnatsyan, another aggressive player. Both Admiral and Fight Nights Global are owned and funded by the same Dagestani oligarch, Ziyavudin Magomedov.

However, while Fight Nights will likely benefit from the publicity stunt, it appears they have not been able to convince Ryspayev. The suspended hockey player revealed to Kazakh media that he will only attend Fight Nights as a ‘spectator.’

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About the author
Karim Zidan
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.

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