Eduard Vartanyan was assaulted in the backstage area before his fight with Uzair at ACA 202, struck in the back of the head by friends of Zaur Gadzhiev. The incident highlights ongoing issues with ACA's backstage access policies. The reporter notes that while media personnel have traditionally faced strict restrictions on accessing locker rooms and backstage areas at ACA events, fighters not competing on the card and their entourages have been allowed access, which enabled this attack. The reporter mentions being forcibly removed from ringside at a previous Kazakhstan event for filming too close to the cage, while questioning why fighters and their associates face fewer restrictions than credentialed media who have covered ACA for years.
