Shahbulat Shamhalaev was taken to hospital with various gunshot wounds on Wednesday following an altercation at a local restaurant in Makhachkala, Dagestan.
Shamhalaev, a former Bellator featherweight tournament winner, was reportedly shot five times by unnamed assailants. He was immediately taken to hospital, where he underwent surgery and had a kidney removed at approximately 4pm Moscow time.
The former title challenger is in stable condition but remains in intensive care.
"The conflict occurred in one of the city's restaurants," an unnamed source told ndelo.ru. "He was shot several times with a firearm. Now he is in intensive care. He underwent surgery, a kidney removed."
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan press service confirmed the incident. BloodyElbow will update this report as more information comes to light.
Update: According to recent reports, Shahbulat was one of the men who entered the restaurant prior to the shooting. He was armed with an assault rifle and a pistol. Once he was spotted, a guard fired at him repeatedly.