Eduard Vartanyan was assaulted in the backstage area before his scheduled bout with Uzair at ACA 202 in St. Petersburg, struck in the back of the head by friends of Zaur Gadzhiev. The incident highlights ongoing issues with ACA's backstage security protocols and media access policies. The author notes that while ACA has historically restricted media access to locker rooms and backstage areas, fighters not competing on the card and their associates have been allowed to roam freely, even to the point of initiating physical altercations. The post criticizes the promotion for prioritizing restrictions on credentialed media who have covered ACA for years while allowing non-competing fighters and their entourages unrestricted access. The author acknowledges that ACA's media access policies have improved recently, though they remain imperfect.
A physical altercation involving Eduard Vartanyan marred the backstage area at ACA 202 in St. Petersburg on April 12, 2026, when associates of fighter Zaur Gadzhiev allegedly struck Vartanyan in the back of the head ahead of his scheduled bout against Uzair on that evening's card.
The incident has drawn sharp criticism toward ACA's handling of backstage access and security. According to the report, individuals connected to Gadzhiev — a fighter who was not competing at ACA 202 — were able to move freely through restricted areas of the venue, ultimately reaching Vartanyan before his fight. The attack raises serious questions about how the promotion manages who enters its backstage environment on event nights.
Why it matters
- A fighter was physically assaulted in the backstage area immediately before a scheduled bout, representing a direct threat to athlete safety.
- Non-competing fighters and their entourages reportedly had unrestricted access to areas where competing athletes were preparing, exposing a significant gap in ACA's event-night security.
- Credentialed media with long-standing relationships with the promotion have faced stricter access controls than the individuals involved in the altercation, a contradiction the report criticizes directly.
- While ACA's media access policies are noted to have improved in recent times, the event in St. Petersburg illustrates that backstage protocols remain inconsistent and, in this case, insufficient to protect the fighters on the card.
The broader concern is one of organizational priority. A promotion that restricts journalists who have covered the organization for years while permitting non-competing athletes and their associates to walk unchecked through locker room corridors is one that has its access controls inverted. The physical safety of competing fighters must represent the baseline standard any promotion is held to, and ACA faces pointed questions about how it intends to address that standard going forward.
