Thread by @jaypettry

This is the (short) story of Askar Mozharov: This fighter had amassed a pro MMA record of 25-7 on some recordkeeping sites. He made his way to the #UFC, and recently contacted Sherdog Fight Finder to demand that losses be removed from his record. Those losses were very real. 1/10

This demand prompted Sherdog into an investigation of his record. Following a substantial review, his W-L record was updated to 19-12, where we nixed multiple fake wins and added legitimate losses. He promptly got finished by Alonzo Menifield at #UFCVegas56 in the 1st round. 2/10

The comprehensive photo- and video-filled story can be viewed here, up to the point of his #UFC debut. It’s got it all: fake names, fictional posters, bogus emails, fight fixing admissions...you name it. Since that debut, more has come to light. 3/10

sherdog.com/news/articles/…

Mozharov cried foul, claiming admins were out to get him and that his team and/or friends “betrayed” him. Following his loss, he was cut from the #UFC and subsequently “retired” from #MMA. That was that…until an unrelated review of Chinese events turned up some more info. 4/10

A Chinese org called Bullet Fly FC ran events starting in 2015, and Mozharov had a win declared on their 1st card over Xu Zihan. When the Fight Finder staff reviewed that event for reasons unrelated to the aforementioned investigation, we found out he was never on that card. 5/10

The staff checked on that fight, finding a lead that it might actually have been in Ukraine, not China, in 2015, under a league called “ADJ Fighting Federation.” Unfortunately, there is no such org, no event, and NO fight. That’s one more win down, so he is 18-13…for now. 6/10

The story’s not over. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, information and recordkeeping, and sometimes communication itself, can be understandably delayed for those in the region. A request made during the initial investigation of Mozharov just bore fruit today. 7/10

We spoke to an official from a local Ukrainian Sambo Federation, who oversees events there and has access to records. We received records for an event on Sept. 18, 2014, where Mozharov was reported to have repped the Ukraine team against Turkey in a country vs. country show. 8/10

On those official records, there were only five pro MMA matches, not six, at the Sport Life Complex in Kyiv. Which fighter did not actually compete against Andrey Karasev that day, and who didn't score a first-round knockout? You guessed it.
This lowers his record to 17-13. 9/10

The Fight Finder team has done an outstanding job with this, which remains unlike anything I have seen this side of Rafiel Torre. The Mozharov book is not closed, as we do have pending requests to other orgs. But for now, two more wins down for the 17-13 Askar Mozharov.

10/10

If two additional fake wins does not seem that dazzling, in May, this fighter showed a record of 25-7 on some sites. Now, he is currently registered at 17-13. That is a level of record manipulation that almost defies description, and a win pct. drop from .781 to .567.

11/10 end