Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA)

Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA), formerly known as Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB), is a Russian mixed martial arts, kickboxing and brazilian jiu-jitsu organization and one of the leading promotions in Europe. To date, most events have been hosted in Grozny, Russia. ACA has also held events in other Russian cities, as well as in Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Absolute Championship Berkut

ACB was founded by Mairbek Khasiev, a citizen of Chechnya. Khasiev is a doctor and combat sport enthusiast. In 2009, he founded the Berkut Fight Club in Grozny which helped young fighters get the opportunity to compete at the highest level.

Several fighters who were successful in ACB have gone on to sign with more well known promotions such as the UFC. ACB had its own fight team, the Fight Club Berkut, which consisted of some of the promotion's elite fighters, such as Beslan Isaev, Magomed Bibulatov, Musa Khamanaev and Aslambek Saidov. ACB co-operated with other promotions in Europe by exchanging fighters, for example KSW and The Cage. ACB ran the majority of its shows live on a variety of TV networks (Match TV, Polsat Sport) throughout Europe. The promotion ran its shows live internationally on its Facebook page.

International Expansion

The 2017 campaign featured 27 events spanning across thirteen countries, including the United States, Austria, Poland, England, Tajikistan, Belarus, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Australia and Russia.

TECH-Krep FC purchase

On September 12, 2018, Mairbek Khasiev revealed that Absolute Championship Berkut had purchased TECH-Krep FC.[2] Khasiev went on to explain that TECH-Krep FC would cease operation and cancel their October 26th event, and that former Tech-Krep FC head Alexey Yatsenko would become the president of ACB.

WFCA acquisition and integration

On November 28, 2018, the Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov announced that the Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) and the World Fighting Championship Akhmat (WFCA) would merge to form a single promotion.[3]

US Sanctions

On December 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced sanctions against ACA and Akhmat MMA due to their ownership by Kadyrov. Due to this, no American citizen or company can do business with them, meaning all American fighters could face fines or jail time if they fight for the organization. [4] Brett Cooper was the first fighter to pull out of his fight at ACA 116: Froes vs Balaev due to the sanctions.[5]

Roster

Main article: List of current ACA fighters

List of events

Main articles: List of Absolute Championship Akhmat events and 2021 in Absolute Championship Akhmat