UFC light heavyweight Gadzhimurad Antigulov has appeared alongside the man he reportedly hospitalized with facial injuries in a drunken punch-up at a wedding, putting an arm around his shoulder in an attempt to end the scandal.
Former two-time Absolute Championship Berkut champion Antigulov was at the center of an ugly altercation in the Russian North Caucasus region, with film footage appearing to show him throwing food at a woman and lashing out at a man after being repeatedly asked to calm down.
The injured man, who has been named as Rasul, reportedly suffered facial injuries when he was attacked outside the building following an earlier melee involving Antigulov.
A new video, published on Life Dagestan’s Instagram channel, appears to have drawn a line under the unsavory incident by showing the pair reconciling with witnesses either side of them.
Antigulov can be seen standing solemnly next to Rasul with a hand on his shoulder, while his purported former victim puts an arm around his back and seems to raise a smile during the show of respect.
The clip accumulated almost 50,000 views within 20 hours, with many viewers warning of the dangers of drinking and even joking that Rasul could sign for the UFC.
The wedding took place in a predominantly Muslim region, and Antigulov was said to have been heavily inebriated.
33-year-old Antigulov apologized on his own Instagram account and suggested he had been willing to pay for Rasul’s treatment following discussions with his family.
Gadzhimurad Antigulov, zawodnik wagi półciężkiej UFC rozpętał zadymę na weselu w Dagestanie po tym, jak miał odmówić zaprzestania picia alkoholu. Podczas uroczystości bezalkoholowych ? pic.twitter.com/DMbfOxP54t
“Those with whom I have trained, shared the ring…my friends all know what kind of person I am,” he told his following of more than 56,000.
“The situation turned out to be ugly. The whole of Dagestan and the entire sports community were exposed in the wrong light.
“I would like to ask those who follow and comment on this situation to learn from the mistakes of others and to draw the right conclusions from each situation.”
Antigulov, who is on a four-fight losing streak but went beyond the first round for the first time on that run in his defeat to Maxim Grishin in Abu Dhabi in October, asked people not to share the footage because he feared it would “divide” them.
“There have been worse situations in each of our lives, but time and patience puts everything in its place,” he added. “Peace and kindness to all.”
