Report: Dagestani MMA fighter flees Russia after being drafted to fight in Ukraine

A Dagestani MMA fighter has reportedly fled Russia after being drafted to join the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to fellow Dagestani fighter Shamil Gamilov, Piraev received his draft notice several days ago and was expected to report for military registration at the local enlistment office. Instead, the former AMC Fight Nights champion opted to ignore the summons and flee across Russia’s border with Georgia.

“Marif received a summons, he fled Russia in horror,” Galimov said during a Q & A session on Instagram Live.

On Sep. 21, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization” in Russia, marking the country’s first mobilization since the second world war. Shortly thereafter, the country’s defense ministry, Sergei Shoigu, revealed that 300,000 Russians “with previous military experience” would be drafted.

However, protests across Russia suggest that the Kremlin may be drafting far more than the figure claimed by the defense minister. The Republic of Dagestan, where Piraev was born, was among the areas that protested the mobilization order, leading to clashes with police on Sunday. In one video, Dagestani women can be seen chasing down a police officer as he runs to safety.

As for Piraev, the fighter has not responded to BloodyElbow’s request for comment. The 29-year-old was expected to face Shovkhal Churchayev at a joint event between Hype Fighting Championships and GFC.

Piraev is not the only MMA fighter drafted as part of Russia’s recent mobilization. Vladimir Mineev was summoned to take part in the war and was shipped off to Mariupol, the Ukrainian port city currently under Russian occupation.

I take a summons and go to the military registration and enlistment office, and there, as the Motherland decides,” Mineev, whose brother died fighting in Russia’s war on Ukraine, said at the time.