Nikita Krylov and Yaroslav Amosov, both born in Ukraine, happen to headline major MMA events this Saturday night: Krylov tops UFC Vegas 70 against Ryan Spann, while Amosov returns to action at Bellator 291 to defend his title against Logan Storley.
Two two are perhaps the highest-profile mixed martial artists to have been caught up in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, and the proximity of their fights and contrasting allegiances have brought the conflict back into focus.
For a year now, the mixed martial arts world has soldiered on paying little mind to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia first invaded its neighbor on February 24, 2022, under the guise of a “special military operation” designed to “liberate” the Donbas region. Comprised primarily of the Donetsk and Luhansk areas of Ukraine, the region was home pockets of Russian sympathizers who had pursued a separatist agenda.
When Russia immediately attacked Ukraine’s capital Kiev in addition to mobilizing on Donbas, most saw an ulterior motive. Russian President Vladimir Putin had, in 2005, called the collapse of the Soviet Union “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” It seemed clear that for Putin, the dream of imperialist Russia lived on.
In the immediate aftermath of the invasion, Polish promotion KSW banned Russian fighters from competing. Bellator MMA, with a Ukrainian champion in welterweight Amosov, supported his decision to return home and defend his country as part of its military response, but did not sanction any Russian athletes. Nor did the UFC, who instead banned fighters from carrying the flags of their countries to the cage.
To be fair, both the UFC and Bellator are in business with a large number of Russian fighters, none of whom are to blame for the actions of their president. Whether they support Putin or not, it’s clear they cannot speak freely — one wrong answer could lead to real world consequences for a fighter or their family. Even death.
Doing away with flags was an “out of sight, out of mind” approach. It mostly worked; the MMA world has moved on as the war dragged on. But with Krylov, a Ukrainian-born supporter of Russia hailing from Donetsk, fighting on the same day as Amosov, a man many see as a hero, the questions were inevitable.
“I think that all the people and all the countries of the former Soviet Union are going to be watching MMA this weekend,” Krylov said Wednesday, during the UFC Vegas 70 media day, when asked about the significance of two high-profile Ukrainians competing on the same night. “Everyone’s going to be rooting for me, everyone’s going to be rooting for Yaroslav Amosov. So it’s a very important weekend.”
Krylov, however, has long been loyal to Russia, sporting a Russian flag on his gear in the past. A supporter of Donbas separation, his politics saw him driven from Donetsk, his ancestral home, when conflict erupted there in 2014. He fled to Kiev, and later, to Moscow. In an interview with Bloody Elbow in 2016, he stated that “I feel that I am Russian,” though he wished to stay connected to his homeland, adopting the nickname “The Miner” in a nod to one of the biggest industries in Donetsk, historically, as well as his family there.
“My father is a miner, my grandfather is miner, I’m a miner, I worked the mine,” he said ahead of UFC Vegas 70. “That’s why, a long time ago, I think ‘The Miner’ is better than Al Capone [his old nickname].”
When things died down at home, Krylov returned to Donetsk, at least occasionally, which included fighting at a United Donbas event in 2017. He reportedly left again last January, ahead of war breaking out, but still has family in the region.
All of which makes Krylov’s follow-up comments on Wednesday a little more understandable. “Honestly, in case you don’t know, I don’t divide whether it’s Russian people, Ukrainian people. We’re all one nation in case you don’t know that.”
Those fighting in Ukraine to repel Russian forces — now widely accused of war crimes — might not agree. But regardless, Krylov, who donned a “f*ck war” t-shirt in conjunction with Russia’s invasion, says he will be rooting for Amosov in the Bellator champ’s fight this weekend.
“The important thing is people are going to be watching us, people are going to be supporting us. So it’s a very important weekend, and I will also try and follow his fight if I can, if it doesn’t conflict with my time,” Krylov stated. “So if I have a chance to watch his fight, I will. I’ll root for him. I hope that he wins.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 70 media day appearance by Nikita Krylov above.
