Last weekend, World Series of Fighting's Vagab Vagabov won via TKO against Brian Grinnell on the WSOF 23 preliminary card in Phoenix, Arizona. It improved the Dagestan-based fighter to 16-0 in his pro career, but what ensued after his win sparked considerable controversy. With Grinnell badly hurt and not responding, the referee intervened for the standing stoppage. Vagabov threw a kick and then a chopping type of strike well after the fact, which angered Grinnell and the referee. You can see the video of the incident at the top of the page.
In an interview with MMA Junkie, Ali Abdel-Aziz confirmed punishment for Vagabov, who has been banned for five months for his actions.
"I spoke with Vagab and his team, and they were very apologetic for his actions," Abdelaziz said. "Vagab got caught up in the moment and expressed remorse for his mistake, but as a company, we simply cannot let moments like this go without addressing them directly.
"We hope this penalty sends a strong message to everyone on our roster that such infractions simply will not be tolerated."
Vagabov's suspension stems from the date of the fight, so he'll be eligible to compete again for the promotion after Feb. 18.
Given WSOF's schedule, it's the equivalent of being ineligible to compete on their next 4-5 shows.
This particular incident isn't anything new for Vagabov. His behavior in Russia more or less shows it was only a matter of time before he'd do something like this in WSOF. In this 2012 fight against Artur Astakhov, Vagabov shoves Astakhov to the ground after the referee initiated a stand-up. All things considered, it's relatively minor, but something worth noting.
However, the much more serious offense for Vagabov happened against Sanghar Saparov. When Vagabov landed the finishing strikes, the referee dove in to stop the fight, but that didn't deter Vagabov from firing away some more punches by going around the referee's back. The finish happens at the 1:41 mark of the clip.
On that note, you probably won't see Vagabov in the UFC any time soon, or ever.
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