A UFC fighter was arrested in Moscow earlier this week on suspicion of kidnapping.
According to reports, Dmitriy Sosnovskiy was arrested along with four other suspects on charges of abduction and extortion. The decision was taken by Moscow’s Presnensky Court, which ruled to detain the suspects for two months while the investigation is ongoing.
”The court has selected custody as a measure of restriction for Dmitriy Sosnovskiy, a suspect in the case into abduction of a person committed by a group (Article 126 Part 3),” the court said.
While the details of alleged crime have not been disclosed, Sosnovskiy’s lawyer, Ravil Saberov, confirmed the news with Russian media outlets, stating that his client is indeed accused of extortion and abduction. He has been arrested for two months. There are five more suspects in this case. They all are in custody. They allegedly extorted about 300,000 rubles ($4,662) from a representative of a commercial organization.”
Saberov also added that he believes the court has misrepresented his client’s actions.
”I saw video footage of this. It happened in an office. What we can talk about is maximum arbitrariness. The complainant was not prevented from leaving, he left the office by himself and he came to receive his salary the next day,” said the lawyer.
Despite the lawyer’s claims, Sosnovskiy’s training partner and fellow UFC heavyweight, Alexey Oleinik, was non-committal about the accusations leveled against his teammate.
“I myself can’t comment on anything except my personal frustration, disappointment that such a situation has occurred. I hope and think that they were in the wrong place and at the wrong time, with the wrong company. Sosnovskiy is a well-known person, so they immediately talk about him.”
Sosnovskiy remains under contract with the UFC, where he competes in the heavyweight division. The undefeated fighter joined the promotion in 2016 and made his eventual debut at a UFC Fight Night in London, England on March 17, 2018, where he defeated Mark Godbeer by submission.
The UFC has yet to respond to Bloody Elbow’s request for comment.
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