Video | Yaroslav Amosov Retrieves Bellator Title Belt From Destroyed Home In Ukraine
In stunning video footage captured, Bellator MMA welterweight champion, Yaroslav Amosov – who is currently in his native Ukraine defending his country from the ongoing invasion by Russia, retrieves his championship title from a rubble-filled house.
Amosov, the current undisputed welterweight champion under the Bellator banner, was scheduled to headline Bellator London on May 13. against Michael Page, however, has since removed himself from proceedings in favor of returning to his native Ukraine in a bid to defend his home country amid the ongoing invasion by Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
As a result, the promotion has since introduced an interim title into the division fray, with Page remaining on the card in a headlining slot against the #4 ranked contender, Logan Storley.
Yaroslav Amosov has compiled a seven-fight undefeated run since his 2018 Bellator bow
Amosov, 28, a native of Irpin in the province of Kyiv Oblast, has received mass praise for his decision to return home in a bid to defend his country, alongside fellow combat sports athletes past and present, including Vasyl Lomachenko, and both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko.
Scott Coker, the president of Bellator MMA posted footage of Amosov climbing from a hole in the ground inside what appears to be a destroyed house in Ukraine, with a championship belt wrapped in plastic in tow.
“A belt with a lot of history!” Yaroslav Amosov said. “Now I won’t give it away, mom safely hid him and he survived the bombing.”
Clinching the championship back in June of last year in the main event of Bellator 260, Amosov, who improved to 26-0 as a result as well, stopped the run of Douglas Lima with a unanimous decision victory.
Last month, Amosov posted an update on the ongoing invasion of Ukraine on his official Instagram, where he criticized the coverage coming from neighboring Russia.
“Greetings to all,” Yaroslav Amosov said. “Wanted to say – well, wanted to repeat – many people talked about this special operation. You’re not saving us. We are defending ourselves. Russian troops came to our territory and they talk about saving us? It’s very interesting to me, who did you save in this house? And this is just a fraction of it. It drops (a shell) on orphanages and regular houses. They shoot at civilians.”
“Terrible things are happening,” Yaroslav Amosov continued. “I don’t understand those people who don’t believe what is going on in our country, they watch their TV and think everything is okay here. They believe that you (the Russian people) are saving us. You’re not saving us, I don’t know how people of Ukraine will forgive Russia for what they did to our country. And this is not even the end.” (Transcribed by MMA Fighting)
