ACA president Magomed Bubulatov candidly discussed the promotion's doping control challenges in an interview. Bubulatov stated that more fighters in the league use performance-enhancing drugs than compete clean, and noted that fighters accepting bouts on short notice are typically clean because they "don't have time to apply anything." He explained that ACA initially gave fighters six months to clear their systems and allowed certain therapeutic substances, with plans to potentially suspend violators for one year. However, Bubulatov acknowledged that comprehensive testing is expensive and suggested all Russian promotions should unite to address the issue collectively, though he considers this unlikely. The promotion has data on all fighters' testing but has not yet decided whether to publicly release the information or continue the testing program.
The president of ACA (Absolute Championship Akhmat) has made a striking admission about doping inside his organization, telling an interviewer that more fighters on the roster are using performance-enhancing drugs than are competing clean.
Magomed Bubulatov spoke candidly about the promotion's struggles with doping control, offering a rare moment of transparency from a major MMA organization. He noted one telling indicator of the scale of the problem: fighters who accept bouts on short notice tend to be clean, in his words, because they simply do not have time to apply anything before the fight.
Bubulatov outlined ACA's current approach to the issue, explaining that the promotion initially gave fighters a six-month window to clear banned substances from their systems and permitted certain therapeutic-use exemptions during that period. A proposed penalty of one-year suspensions for violations has been discussed but not yet formalized.
Why it matters
- ACA is one of the largest MMA promotions operating in Russia and the post-Soviet region, meaning the admission touches a significant portion of the regional fighter pool
- Bubulatov suggested that all Russian promotions should cooperate on a unified testing program to share costs, while acknowledging he considers such collaboration unlikely
- The promotion currently holds testing data on all fighters but has not decided whether to release results publicly or even whether to continue the program at all
The financial burden of comprehensive testing appears to be a central obstacle. Bubulatov described the cost of thorough doping controls as prohibitive for a single promotion to shoulder alone, pointing to collective action as the only realistic path toward meaningful enforcement.
ACA has not yet announced a timeline for any decisions on publishing its testing data or committing to an ongoing anti-doping program.
