Founding of Fight Nights Global

The company was founded in 2010 by a Russian athlete, businessman and sports ambassador Kamil Gadzhiev, together with a multiple time world kickboxing champion Batu Khasikov, a television producer Sangadji Tarbaev, the "SHANDESIGN" studio head Sergei Shanovich and the Goldman Sachs Russia CEO Sergey Arsenyev. At that time the company was called FIGHT NIGHTS and later rebranded as Eurasia Fight Nights (EFN).^{[citation needed]}

2010–2015: early years

Initially, Fight Nights Global (at that time called FIGHT NIGHTS) fights were held in a ring under MMA and K-1 rules. The first event featured Lightweight Grand Prix, which was won by Murad Machaev. In the main event Batu Khasikov knocked out Ricardo Fernandes. Rasul Mirzaev defeated Marat Pekov via judges decision and became the first FIGHT NIGHTS champion in the Featherweight category.

The first high-profile event happened in November 2011 in Moscow and featured the Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis facing Batu Khasikov. Batu won by TKO in the first round and broke his opponent's jaw.

In 2012, the company held seven major events with the final one being "FIGHT NIGHTS: Battle of Moscow 9" on December 16. The show featured the debut of the UFC ex-champion Andrei Arlovski. The Belarusian fighter defeated Mike Hayes from the United States via a unanimous decision.

Vitaly Minakov, Fight Nights Global promotion's household name, signed a contract with Bellator MMA in 2012.

In 2013, Vitaly won the Bellator heavyweight Grand Prix tournament and then won the Bellator MMA belt by knocking out Alexander Volkov in the first round. In April 2013, Vitaly became the first FIGHT NIGHTS fighter to make his way to the UFC. The next one was Ali Bagautinov who competed in the Flyweight division and signed a contract with the UFC after a victory over the experienced Japanese mixed martial artist Seiji Ozuka.

In June 2013 the company started using an octagonal cage that is popular in the MMA industry. In November 2013, the company hosted the first event outside of Russia, “FIGHT NIGHTS: Battle on the Nyamiha" at Minsk-Arena, Belarus. The main attraction of the night was the home performance by Andrei Arlovski.

Batu Khasikov had his last professional fight in March 2014 at “Fight Nights: Battle Of Moscow 15” where he again fought Mike Zambidis. The fight went all five rounds, Khasikov was the victor. Vladimir Mineev debuted in MMA at “Fight Nights: Battle Of Moscow 17”. The final tournament of 2014 featured Alexander Shlemenko vs. Yasubey Enomoto.

2015–2016: rise in popularity, rebranding and Summa acquisition

In 2015 the company hosted four major shows (Fight Nights: Battle Of Moscow 19, Fight Nights: Sochi, Fight Nights: Dagestan, Fight Nights: Petersburg) and eighteen selection tournaments “Fight club FIGHT NIGHTS".

Vitaly Minakov used his interim in Bellator MMA to return to the Fight Nights Global promotion. From July 2015 to June 2016 the four-time Sambo world champion fought in 4 matches, winning early victories over Adam Maciejewski (Poland), Geronimo dos Santos (Brazil), Josh Copeland (USA) and Peter Graham (Australia).

In 2016 the company was bought by Summa Group, a conglomerate that invested in port logistics, engineering, construction, telecommunications, sports, oil and gas that was founded by Dagestani billionaire Ziyavudin Magomedov.^[2] Kamil Gadzhiev, who is also the Vice-President of Moscow MMA Federation, became the president of the newly established Fight Nights Global. Backed by substantial investments of Summa Group, 2016 was the year of a massive breakthrough for FNG on the Russian market.

Fight Nights Global 50 (June 17, 2016) in Saint Petersburg featured a fight card headlined by Fedor Emelianenko. 4 years after retirement, "The Last Emperor" decided to come back to professional sports in the Fight Nights Global cage versus one of the most uncompromising strikers of the UFC, Fabio Maldonado. The tough match ended with a split decision win for the Russian athlete. The event was broadcast worldwide via UFC Fight Pass.

2017–present: global growth

In 2017 Fight Nights Global determined champions in all eight weight categories among men and inked plenty of international talent to the roster including Rousimar Palhares, Josh Hill, Tyson Nam and the returning Ali Bagautinov to multi-fight contracts.^[3]

The company hosted 25 events, discovering new cities and countries, including Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan, Dushanbe in Tajikistan, Omsk, Penza, Tolyatti, Surgut, Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg, Bryansk and Ulan-Ude in Russia.

Fight Night Global president Kamil Gadzhiev announced that the promotion will introduce the Anti-Doping Control System.^[4]

Fight Nights Global 68, which took place during the International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg, showcased Vitaly Minakov vs. Antonio Silva.^[5] Later, Novosibirsk hosted Fight Nights Global 69, where Ali Bagautinov defeated Pedro Nobre.^[6] In September, the notorious Fight Nights Global 73 took place. It featured the Russian-Brazilian confrontations Shamil Amirov vs. Rousimar Palhares, Kurban Omarov vs. Fabio Maldonado and Akhmed Aliev vs. Diego Brandao in the main event, which ended with a scandal.^[7]

Other events of the year were Fight Nights Global 77, where newly-signed Nikita Krylov KO’ed Emanuel Newton^[8] and Fight Nights Global 82, where the undefeated heavyweight Vitaly Minakov TKO’ed the top fighter from the USA, Tony Johnson.

In 2018 the company announced more international shows, including events in Brazil, USA and EU.

Rename to AMC Fight Nights Global

In 2020 November Fight Nights Global owner Kamil Gadzhiev sold his promotion to AMC Company owner Amir Muradov. After that they renamed the promotion to AMC Fight Nights Global.^[9][10]

Mixed martial arts

More information Division, Champion ...

Division	Champion	Since	Defenses
Heavyweight	Vacant
Light Heavyweight	Vagab Vagabov	October 16, 2021	1
Middleweight	Vladimir Mineev	September 9, 2020	1
Welterweight	Dmitry Bikrev	April 6, 2019	4
Lightweight	Alexander Sarnavskiy	February 23, 2024	0
Featherweight	Vacant
Bantamweight	Sabit Zhusupov	October 14, 2022	1
Flyweight	Vacant

Close

Heavyweight Championship

over 93 kg (over 205 lb)

More information No., Name ...

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
Ponomarev vacated the title when he signed for ACA. [11]
3	Grigoriy Ponomarev	AMC Fight Nights 115 Sochi, Russia	October 14, 2022	1. def. Yusup Shuaev at AMC Fight Nights 119 on March 18, 2023
2	Yusup Shuaev def. Grigoriy Ponomarev	AMC Fight Nights 110 Astrakhan, Russia	March 25, 2022
Sergei Pavlovich vacated the title when he signed for UFC.
1	Sergei Pavlovich def. Mikhail Mokhnatkin	FNG 68 Saint Petersburg, Russia	June 2, 2017	1. def. Kirill Sidelnikov at FNG 79 on November 19, 2017

Close

Light Heavyweight Championship

93 kg (205 lbs)

More information No., Name ...

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
Current	Vagab Vagabov	AMC Fight Nights 105 Sochi, Russia	October 16, 2021	1. def. David Barkhudaryan at AMC Fight Nights 113 on July 15, 2022
4	Hasan Yousefi	AMC Fight Nights 102 Krasnoyarsk, Russia	June 18, 2021
3	Armen Petrosyan def. Artur Aliskerov	MMA Festival Rostov-on-Don, Russia	August 28, 2020	1. def. Dmitry Minakov at FNG Steel Heart XI on January 22, 2021
Nikita Krylov vacated the title when he signed for UFC.
2	Nikita Krylov	FNG 87 Rostov-on-Don, Russia	May 19, 2018
1	Fábio Maldonado def. Kurban Omarov	FNG 73 Kaspiysk, Russia	September 4, 2017

Close

Middleweight Championship

84 kg (185 lbs)

More information No., Name ...

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
Interim	Dmitriy Aryshev def. Irwing Machado [12]	AMC Fight Nights 122 Moscow, Russia	November 10, 2023
Current	Vladimir Mineev def. Dauren Ermekov	FNG / GFC Moscow, Russia	September 9, 2020	1. def. Magomed Ismailov at AMC Fight Nights 105 on October 16, 2021
Roman Kopylov vacated the title when he signed for UFC.
2	Roman Kopylov	FNG 85 Moscow, Russia	March 30, 2018	1. def. Yasubey Enomoto at FNG 91 on Dec 27, 2018
1	Abusupyan Alikhanov def. Khalid Murtazaliev	FNG 66 Kaspiysk, Russia	May 21, 2017

Close

Welterweight Championship

77 kg (170 lbs)

More information No., Name ...

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
Current	Dmitry Bikrev def. Maxim Butorin	FNG 92 Moscow, Russia	April 6, 2019	1. NC vs. Shamil Amirov at FNG 98 on September 25, 2020 2. def. Goity Dazaev at FNG 100 on April 10, 2021 3. def. Ruslan Kolodko at AMC Fight Nights 113 on July 15, 2022 4. def. Alexey Makhno at AMC Fight Nights 121 on July 14, 2023
Georgiy Kichigin vacated the title when he signed for ONE.
1	Georgiy Kichigin def. Gadzhimurad Khiramagomedov	FNG 65 Astana, Kazakhstan	May 19, 2017	1. def. Magomed Nurov at FNG 80 on November 26, 2017

Close

Lightweight Championship

70 kg (155 lbs)

More information No., Name ...

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
Current	Alexander Sarnavskiy	AMC Fight Nights 123 Moscow, Russia	February 23, 2024
4	Magomed Sulumov def. Akhmed Aliev	AMC Fight Nights 121 Moscow, Russia	July 14, 2023
Nariman Abbasov vacated the title when he tested free agency.
3	Nariman Abbasov def. Kuat Khamitov	FNG 93 Mytishchi, Russia	April 26, 2019	1. def. Mikhail Gogitidze at FNG 98 on September 25, 2020 2. def. Shamil Amirov at AMC Fight Nights 100 on April 10, 2021 3. def. Shamil Zavurov at AMC Fight Nights: Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov Memory Tournament on September 17, 2021 4. def. Marif Piraev at AMC Fight Nights 112 on June 10, 2022
Akhmed Aliev vacated the title when he signed for PFL.
2	Akhmed Aliev	FNG 83 Moscow, Russia	February 22, 2018
1	Magomedsaygid Alibekov def. Nariman Abbasov	FNG 56 Vladivostok, Russia	December 9, 2016	1. def. Kuat Khamitov at FNG 63 on April 21, 2017

Close

Featherweight Championship

66 kg (145 lbs)

More information No., Name ...

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
Khabibulin vacated the title when he signed for ACA. [13]
3	Gleb Khabibulin def. Arkadiy Osipyan	AMC FN 115 Sochi, Russia	October 14, 2022
Mukhamed Eminov vacated the title when he tested free agency.
2	Mukhamed Eminov def. Aleksandr Grozin	Festival Stepping into Immortality Ekaterinburg, Russia	March 1, 2020	1. def. Muratbek Kasymbay at FNG / GFC on September 9, 2020 2. def. Akhmed Balkizov at FNG 99 on December 25, 2020 3. def. Roman Silagadze at AMC Fight Nights 105 on October 16, 2021
Alexander Matmuratov vacated the title when he signed for ACA.
1	Alexander Matmuratov def. Ilya Kurzanov	FNG 62 Moscow, Russia	March 31, 2017	1. def. Evgeniy Ignatiev at FNG 81 on December 15, 2017

Close

Bantamweight Championship

61 kg (135 lbs)

More information No., Name ...

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
Current	Sabit Zhusupov	AMC FN 115 Sochi, Russia	October 14, 2022	1. def. Wanderley Junior at AMC Fight Nights 122 on November 10, 2023 [14]
3	Vladimir Egoyan def. Gustavo Erak	AMC Fight Nights: Sochi Sochi, Russia	February 23, 2021
Evgeniy Ignatiev vacated the title when he signed for RCC Boxing Promotions
2	Evgeniy Ignatiev def. Nikita Boltabaev	FNG 94 Moscow, Russia	October 12, 2019
Tomáš Deák vacated the title when he signed for Oktagon MMA.
1	Tomáš Deák def. Nikita Chistyakov	FNG 75 Moscow, Russia	October 6, 2017	1. def. Sharamazan Chupanov at FNG 84 on March 2, 2018

Close

Flyweight Championship

57 kg (125 lbs)

More information No., Name ...

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
Vartan Asatryan vacated the title when he signed for ACA. [15]
5	Vartan Asatryan def. Vladimir Alekseev	AMC Fight Nights 109 Sochi, Russia	February 23, 2022
Moris Boleyan vacated the title when he tested free agency.
4	Moris Boleyan def. Anatoly Kondratyev	FNG Steel Heart XI Magnitogorsk, Russia	January 22, 2021	1. def. Azizkhan Chorshanbiev at AMC Fight Nights 103 on July 15, 2021
Zhalgas Zhumagulov vacated the title when he signed for UFC.
3	Zhalgas Zhumagulov	FNG 88 Astana, Kazakhstan	August 31, 2018	1. def. Ali Bagautinov at FNG 95 on October 19, 2019
2	Tagir Ulanbekov	FNG 76 Moscow, Russia	October 8, 2017
1	Vartan Asatryan def. Zhalgas Zhumagulov	FNG 65 Astana, Kazakhstan	May 19, 2017

Close

Women's Bantamweight Championship

61 kg (135 lbs)

More information No., Name ...

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
Current	Vacant	N/A	N/A	N/A
Liana Jojua vacated the title when she signed for UFC.
1	Liana Jojua def. Marina Mokhnatkina	FNG 83 Moscow, Russia	February 22, 2018

Close

Mixed Martial Arts

Kickboxing