Bellator welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov will join Vasyl Lomachenko in forgoing a title fight to stay in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion of his home country.
The undefeated MMA fighter was due to jet to London to face hometown fighter Michael 'Venom' Page at Bellator 281 in the OVO Arena Wembley on May 13. But he has now decided to stay in his home country to defend against the continuing Russian invasion.
It comes just days after it emerged that fellow Ukrainian Lomachenko would be opting not to leave the country to face George Kambosos Jr for the unified lightweight boxing titles in Australia. That bout had been set for June 5, but it now appears that Kambosos will instead take on Devin Haney for the undisputed crown.
And Page will now instead face Logan Storley for the interim belt in the headliner of a card that also features No.2 and No.3-ranked contenders Douglas Lima and Jason Jackson square off in what is essentially a top contender fight.
Bellator President Scott Coker said: “Like the rest of the world, we’ve been shocked by the tragic events in Ukraine and the thoughts of everyone at Bellator MMA are with Yaroslav and all the Ukrainian people during this time. We wish he and his family the best and look forward to seeing him return safely to happier times, both inside and out of the Bellator cage.”
Page will return to his hometown arena on the back of a six-fight win streak that included banishing the demons of his sole MMA loss to Lima last time out. He earned a split-decision victory in front of a packed home crowd against Lima back in October, and is now set to fight for the belt.
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It appears Amosov and Lomachenko won't be joined in staying in Ukraine by world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk. The unified title holder looks like he will leave his home country and set up training camp for a rematch with Anthony Joshua this summer.
Joshua triggered a rematch clause just days after having his belts taken from him at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September. However, the second bout was put in jeopardy after Usyk's homeland was invaded by Russian forces.
It had begun to appear that he wouldn't be available to participate in the rematch immediately, instead opting to take up arms in the battle to keep Ukraine safe amid numerous attacks from Russia. But it now seems that he will accept the fight, meaning Joshua won't have to face an interim opponent.
