Report: MMA fighter wanted for murder of former Dagestan president’s nephew

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

An MMA fighter is wanted on suspicion of complicity in the murder of the nephew of the former Head of the Republic of Dagestan, Mukhu Aliyev.

Islam Vaganov, 28, was reportedly involved in an attack on Aliyev’s nephew, who was severely beaten before being hospitalized with extensive injuries. The victim later died in hospital.

The news was first reported by Magomed Bisavaliev, the editor-in-chief of the Dagestan magazine.

“The nephew of Mukhu Aliyev, beaten three days ago, died today in the hospital. They say that MMA fighter Islam Vagabov was involved in his beating, and he was put on the wanted list, “Bisavaliev wrote on his Instagram.

Mukhu Aliyev served as the 2nd Head of the Republic of Dagestan, succeeding Magomedali Magomedov in 2006. An ethic Avar, Aliyev was best known for opposing the transfer of two villages located on the Russia/Azerbaijan border to Azerbaijan.

Vagabov holds a 2-0 MMA record. His most recent fight took place in 2019, when he defeated Ali Kushtavato by TKO in the first round.

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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.