By Noah Hickman
Courtesy: Evan Treacy/INPHO/Shutterstock
June 11, 2021: on that day, Ukrainian MMA fighter Yaroslav Amosov won the Bellator Welterweight World Championship defeating Douglas Lima via unanimous decision.
In what was known as the Bellator 260, and because of COVID-19, it was the first Bellator event that had fans in attendance since the Bellator 240 in Feb. 2020.
The event took place in Uncasville, CT. and had 10 total fights, including the Bellator Welterweight World Championship.
An anticipated matchup, the undefeated 25-0 Amosov would go against the 170-pound 3-time Welterweight world champion, Douglas Lima.
The fight would be fairly lopsided as Amosov won via UD from the three judges.
The scores: 50-45, 46-49, and 46-49, respectively; and like that, Amosov would have his first Bellator Welterweight World Championship title.
Reaching the highest mountain has its blessings and joys with mystery on the side.
All seemed to be going well as Amosov had a child due the following month: a championship, a baby, an undefeated record; what trials and tribulations could possibly cease the moment?
His next fight was originally scheduled for May 2022 against British welterweight, Michael Page.
That fight would never happen though, as on Feb. 24, 2022, a world altering event would affect the world as we knew it and make worldwide headlines.
Just a little over a year ago, Russia invaded Ukraine and Russian president Vladimir Putin authorized "special military operations" in Ukraine.
At 5:07 a.m., Russia launched a series of missiles and began using long-range artillery attacks to strike major cities including Ukraine's capital, Kyiv and Amosov's hometown, Irpin.
Buildings all over Ukraine were bombed, including Amosov's mom's house.
Luckily, she was able to get out, and before she did that, she made sure to hide one item in particular so the Russians could not find it -- the World Championship belt.
Amosov would later post a video of him retrieving the belt from the pile of rubble.
Still starstruck, Amosov said that it was important to get out of danger.
"At first you're kind of in a state of shock. You don't know what's going on," Amosov said.
"The most important thing for us was to get our families to safety. Me and my friends, my parents, our wives, our elderly, our kids, dogs - anybody."
Determined to get out, Amosov drove 36 hours straight without any rest to get him and his family to safety.
Once everyone arrived at the frontlines, a life-changing decision would be made.
Amosov would inform his family that he would drive back to Irpin to defend the city and Ukraine.
There were already no guarantees that he would ever see his family again, but to make matters more eerie, Amosov had no military experience and had never even fired a gun in his lifetime. It took a while for him to learn, but eventually he would get the hang of it.
In March, the Ukrainians would recapture Irpin, but it would come with a price.
"When we liberated my hometown, there's a town next to it, and we kind of went there to let the people know the Russian army has been pushed away and they are now safe. And we saw a street called the Street of Death," Amosov said. "To the left and to the right all you saw was bodies. Regular people, grandmas, kids, wives, husbands, and they were there for weeks. The Russian soldiers would not let their loved ones collect the remains and bury them. They just laid there rotting."
With Irpin recaptured, Amosov still had no intention of making a return to the MMA...then one day, he got persuaded by members of the Army to defend his title.
To them, this was so much bigger than an MMA mixed martial arts match; Amosov was representing the spirit of Ukraine.
His 27th matchup would be a rematch against American MMA fighter, Logan Storley.
This time, the match would be set in Dublin, Ireland.
Storley fought Amosov in Nov. 2020, and came the closest in handing him his first loss. Amosov would win via split-decision.
What would be a highly anticipated rematch, commentators questioned whether Amosov would be the same fighter since he had served in Ukraine.
In a way, I get why not having extensive MMA training for a long period of time would lead to those questions, but it's not like Amosov was on the couch eating potato chips; he was fighting in a f*****g war.
If anything, I knew he was going to be tougher, stronger, and more resilient...and that he was!
The fight was not even close and to be honest, this fight showed Storley's toughness just as much as Amosov's because he took close to 300 shots to his body.
Storley took blows to the body, head, and legs and yet somehow completed 5 rounds.
He was bleeding from his eyes and the blood was flowing down his face as he got deeper into the fight.
There is a reason why Storley is 14-2 and there is no shame in saying that the two losses came against the world's greatest welterweight who has gone through hell and back this past year.
Amosov would defend his belt and won via UD; all the judges came up with a score of 50-45.
To be undefeated at 27-0 is one thing, but to come back stronger after overcoming adversity and not knowing whether you would make it back alive: that's historic.
I had recently been messaging with a friend about this phenom, and I have the sincere belief that for the most part this friend of mine knows more about sports than I do.
He did not know who Yaroslav Amosov was though, and when I figured that out, I knew I had to write this story to give it the notoriety it deserves.
Amosov is a hero whether he wants to hear it.
There are so many brave men and women who serve and put their lives on the line to protect their country.
Many veterans know the gravity of their service and a lot think of it as the least they can do.
I know Amosov has the mindset that he was just doing his duty, but I am not sure whether he knows just how influential he is.
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