Bellator Welterweight Champion Yaroslav Amosov has shared some harrowing details of fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Amosov was scheduled to put his 170-pound gold on the line against Michael Page in the main event of Bellator 281 on May 13. That plan went awry as Amosov withdrew from the fight to protect Ukraine in the war against Russia.
Yaroslav Amosov Shares Harrowing Details
In a new video posted on the ukr_sport Instagram page, Yaroslav Amosov shared some graphic details on the current situation in Ukraine (h/t MMAJunkie.com).
“Our enemies came to Ukraine with weapons and made chaos. Me and my friends decided to help defend our country, our city, and we joined the territorial defense of our city Irpin. Russian soldiers bombed houses, killed civilians, raped women. They killed people in cars. People just wanted to leave the occupied territory. They just wanted to live. Many people were sitting in basements for more than a month. When Irpin was liberated, they were given a piece of bread. They wept and gave thanks. They sat without water, without light. They were afraid that someone would come in, and they would be shot.”
Amosov went on to say that Russian athletes have personally told him that they do not agree with the war.
“Russian athletes who follow my Instagram wrote to me that they don’t support the ‘military special operation,’ but they don’t express this on their social networks,” Amosov said.
Amosov joined the likes of other Ukrainian combat sports athletes such as Vasiliy Lomachenko and Oleksandr Usyk in fighting in the war. Of course, boxing legends Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko are also fighting in the war.
Amosov also talked about reuniting with his Bellator championship belt while on active duty in a war against Russia and said page’s fight against Storley “doesn’t matter.”
“During the first days of the war, my mother stayed at home. But when it became dangerous, I ran to her and persuaded her to leave,” Amosov said. “And when my mom was packing, she hid the belt in the basement. It’s good that she did it, because I was at her house. During the occupation, looters were there and destroyed her apartment. My family is safe. I came to my wife and son. We rested. Now I will return to Irpin.”
He continued, “They made a fight for the interim title. It doesn’t matter to me. I will wait for the war to end and defend my title. I hope we will be able to return to our homes homes, (and) there will be peace on our land. The sun will shine, we will smile, and everything will be fine.”
