Bellator Signs 2020 Olympic Silver Medalist Wrestler Kadi Magomedov for Pro Debut

Bellator MMA has picked up one more extremely talented wrestler to bolster its ranks.

Per a press release issued on Thursday, the promotion has announced that it has signed Kadi Magomedov, also known as Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau or Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov. Magomedov earned the Olympic silver medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics at 74 kg (162.8 pounds), beating the likes of America’s Kyle Dake and Italian wrestler Frank Chamizo to take second. Magomedov fell short against Russia’s Zaurbek Sidakov in the gold-medal match, with Sidakov representing the “Russian Olympic Committee” due to state-sanctioned doping violations.

The silver medalist will be competing at the featherweight division in the Bellator ranks, and he will be skipping the amateur circuit entirely to make his first MMA fight a professional one. The 28-year-old, who is an International Master of Sports in freestyle wrestling as well, will be training under the auspices of the Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov School in Dagestan, Russia.

“Transitioning to MMA has been a goal of mine for many years, and this is the perfect time to start my career,” Magomedov said in a statement. “I train with many of the top fighters at the Nurmagomedov School and I learn many things from them every day that will help me win a world championship at Bellator, the best fight promotion in the world.”

Magomedov has trained with the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev over the years. Born in Dagestan, Magomedov changed his citizenship to Belarus in 2020 and has represented the nation ever since – this resulted in his name change to the aforementioned Kadzimahamedau from Kadimagomedov. His debut date has not been declared, but Bellator expects that he will compete before the end of 2023.