Arslan Otchiyev, a Turkmenistan national chess champion, will set out to become a champ in a completely different sport. He’s set to make his professional MMA debut June 15 at CES 50 against Brendan Marotte.
Otchiyev, 28, who’s 4-4-1 as an amateur, is a six-time Turkmenistan national chess champion and played on his country’s Olympic team. He has since moved to Connecticut in 2011 to join his parents and brother and became a state champion in chess there as well. He said his experience playing chess has helped him as a fighter.