Eduard Vartanyan was reportedly attacked in the backstage area before his scheduled fight with Uzair at ACA 202 in St. Petersburg. According to the report, he was struck in the back of the head by friends of fighter Zaur Gadzhiev. The incident highlights ongoing security and access control issues at ACA events. The post criticizes ACA's strict media restrictions in backstage areas while apparently allowing fighters not competing on the card and their entourages to roam freely. The author notes that while media access policies have improved recently, the organization still prevents credentialed journalists who have covered ACA for years from accessing certain areas, yet failed to prevent this pre-fight altercation.
A troubling pre-fight incident unfolded backstage at ACA 202 in St. Petersburg on April 12, when Eduard Vartanyan was reportedly struck in the back of the head by associates of fellow fighter Zaur Gadzhiev, just before Vartanyan was due to compete against Uzair on the card.
The attack has drawn sharp criticism aimed at ACA's backstage access and security arrangements. Reports indicate that individuals not competing on the night — including fighters and their entourages — were free to move through restricted areas, creating the conditions that allowed the alleged assault to take place.
Why it matters
- A pre-fight attack in a backstage area raises serious questions about fighter safety at ACA events
- The incident exposes inconsistent access control, where non-competing fighters and their parties apparently moved freely through secured zones
- Credentialed journalists who have covered ACA for years are reportedly denied access to those same areas, highlighting the contradiction in the organization's policies
- ACA's media access rules have shown some recent improvement, but this episode suggests internal security protocols remain inadequate
The contrast at the center of the criticism is stark: long-standing media professionals with valid credentials are kept out of backstage areas, while individuals with no competitive role on the night appear to have encountered little restriction. That gap in enforcement, according to the report, is what allowed the confrontation with Vartanyan to happen at all.
Whether ACA responds with tightened security measures or a formal statement regarding the alleged attack on Vartanyan remains to be seen based on available reporting.
