Tragic Case at Belogorsk MMA Open Cup Raises Questions About Safety and Regulation
A tragic incident occurred during a mixed martial arts event in Belogorsk, Amur Region, when a 16-year-old athlete was shot in the head during a fight and later died in intensive care. The incident took place at the Rodina Sports Club Open Cup draw, organized by the regional MMA Federation branch.
The city’s head, Stanislav Melyukov, addressed the situation, emphasizing that all necessary legal procedures had been followed for the athletes’ participation. He noted that the Cup’s regulations had been approved and that parental consent had been obtained for minor competitors.
Under the Cup rules, athletes aged 16 to 17 are required to wear an open-type boxing helmet. For reasons not yet clear, the event’s chief judge — who also headed the regional organization — chose to conduct the competition without the helmets.
Given that the tragedy happened in Belogorsk, the head of Arkharinsky District has reached out to Tatyana Shutrina and promised support. Investigators are still determining the exact cause of death, while the Amur Life outlet reports that authorities are actively examining the circumstances.
According to the Belogorsk investigative department of the Amur Region’s Investigative Committee, a preliminary inquiry has been completed and a procedural decision will follow. In addition, both the Amur Region and Belogorsk prosecutor’s offices will conduct their own checks. Prosecutor Igor Matsokha arrived at the scene to coordinate the response of law enforcement agencies.
The supervisory authority will assess the legality of the organizer’s actions during the event, the official statement noted.
Further details emerged from local outlets, which identified the deceased as Bogdan Pushkarev, a young athlete from a large family in the village of Arkhara. Bogdan had recently enrolled in a school in Blagoveshchensk after completing the ninth grade, but his registration and representation for the Cup listed him as a participant from Arkhara. He had joined mixed martial arts more than a year earlier and competed at the Cup as a novice. The event drew competitors from across the Amur region, with 31 participants in total, and was held in memory of war veterans under the slogan “To the faithful sons of the Fatherland.”
Shutrina explained that Bogdan did not yet have his gym clothes and was participating as a novice, having not trained extensively in Arkhara for a long period. The regional federation had communicated with Bogdan’s family and offered to cover burial expenses and provide ongoing support to the family and district authorities. Bogdan’s stepfather, an employee at a lower management level within a local institution, was among those who had been informed of the tragedy.
Shutrina added that the federation would assist the family as needed and that representatives would keep in contact with Bogdan’s coach, Artur Sherstnev, to ensure that all details are handled properly. When the Arkharinsky district team returns home, local officials will arrange further discussions with the coach to determine the next steps.
In summary, officials from multiple regional bodies are conducting parallel inquiries to establish what happened and to ensure appropriate measures are taken to prevent a recurrence. The case underscores the ongoing need for stringent safety protocols in youth combat sports and for clear accountability in event organization and participant regulation.
At present, investigators are pursuing all viable leads to determine the full sequence of events that led to the incident, while families and local communities await answers and support to cope with this profound loss.