ACA President Magomed Bubulatov revealed in an interview that more fighters in the league use performance-enhancing drugs than compete clean. He stated that fighters accepting bouts on short notice are typically clean because they "didn't have time to apply anything." ACA implemented a six-month transition period and testing protocols, but Bubulatov acknowledged that drug testing is expensive and difficult to maintain independently. He suggested Russian promotions should unite to share testing costs but considers this unlikely to happen. The league is still deciding how to handle violators, with a one-year suspension being considered.
The president of the Absolute Championship Akhmat has openly acknowledged that the majority of fighters competing in the Russian promotion are using performance-enhancing drugs, a candid admission that raises serious questions about the integrity of one of Europe's largest MMA organizations.
Magomed Bubulatov made the remarks in a recent interview, stating bluntly that more ACA fighters use banned substances than compete without them. He offered an unusual observation as a partial indicator of who is clean: fighters who accept bouts on short notice, he said, are generally drug-free because they simply did not have enough time to use anything before the contest.
Bubulatov confirmed that ACA has introduced a six-month transition period alongside new testing protocols, a sign the organization is aware the problem demands a structural response. However, he was frank about the financial obstacles involved, describing independent drug testing as expensive and difficult to sustain on a per-promotion basis.
Why it matters
- Bubulatov's admission places the scale of PED use in ACA well beyond what most organizations publicly acknowledge, calling into question the credibility of results across the roster.
- ACA has not finalized how it will punish violators, with a one-year suspension currently under consideration but not yet adopted as official policy.
- Bubulatov proposed that Russian promotions pool resources to share testing costs, though he conceded that cooperation between rival organizations is unlikely to materialize.
The lack of a unified anti-doping framework across Russian MMA leaves enforcement dependent on individual promotions that may lack both the funding and the institutional will to apply consistent standards. Until ACA formalizes its sanctions policy and secures a reliable testing partner, the transition period Bubulatov described remains more of an aspiration than an enforceable deterrent.
