Yaroslav Amosov withdraws from Bellator title fight amid war in Ukraine

23 March 2022

Bellator Welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov has decided to stay back in Ukraine and withdraw from his upcoming title fight against Michael "Venom" Page in May. Amosov was scheduled to fight MVP at the OVO Arena Wembley in London on May 13 and he will now be replaced by Logan Storley who will fight MVP for the interim title.

"Like the rest of the world, we've been shocked by the tragic events in Ukraine and the thoughts of everyone at Bellator MMA are with Yaroslav and all the Ukrainian people during this time. We wish he and his family the best and look forward to seeing him return safely to happier times, both inside and out of the Bellator cage,” Bellator President Scott Coker said in a statement.

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Earlier, Amosov had stated that horrible things are happening in Ukraine.

“I want to state that this special military operation is not helping people. We are forced to protect ourselves. Russian troops came to this land with the idea to save civilians, but I wonder who you saved in this house. This is just one of the examples, they are bombing houses, civilians die. Horrible things are happening. I don’t understand those who don’t realize what really is going on. They watch their TVs and believe in the idea of saving civilians. But it is not helping us. I do not know how Ukrainians forgive Russians, but it is not the end. A lot of people die. I see it with my own eyes, I hear it. Now you can hear it too. Our country will protect ourselves; we will win,” he told on Instagram.

The updated Bellator 281 card after the withdrawal of Amosov can be seen below.

Bellator 281 Main Card:

• Interim World Title Main Event: Michael Page vs. Logan Storley
• Douglas Lima vs. Jason Jackson
• Lyoto Machida vs. Fabian Edwards
• Denise Kielholtz vs. Kana Watanabe
• Paul Daley vs. Andrey Koreshkov

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