Aslanbek Badaev, vice president of ACA, in an exclusive interview with Telecomasia.net, revealed how Iranian fighter Pouya Rahmani deceived the Russian league, noting that the athlete’s actions led to the extension of his contract.
“Formally, the contract expires in May 2026. But there are nuances. The league periodically offers fights. Any refusal results in an automatic extension. Rahmani was offered bouts but declined. The ACA league froze his contract when he stopped responding altogether. After two fights, he simply disappeared without any explanation.
"He appeared in December. We met, and he explained his visa issues, legal troubles, and injuries… sad stories. We wanted to build up his fight and were ready to offer a title contender fight. He said he was interested but mentioned a promise from previous management to double his fee. Magomed Bibulatov promised him it would be fulfilled. We parted ways, and he disappeared again.
"Later, he won the “Submission of the Year” award. We contacted him through a mutual friend. Once victory was near, he decided to reach out and claim 10 grand. But ACA is not a naive league. “Your payment is in our safe; you’ll get it when you come for your next fight.” He got upset and vanished again,” Badaev said.
Deception shows in simple things. Famous fighters approached us asking to release him. Allegedly, Rahmani asked them to talk to ACA to let him go, to stop blocking his fights. It’s not about personal relationships, it is a precedent. We might have let him go had he asked properly, like Evgeny Goncharov. But he said he was ready to continue. We believed him, but he lied. Eventually, PFL stopped replying to our messages.
Earlier this year, Rahmani was announced for the PFL heavyweight Grand Prix but was removed after ACA provided documents proving their active contract with the fighter. Rahmani has not fought in ACA since but was later announced for PFL’s Champions Series 3. The Iranian fighter holds four wins and zero
