On Friday, April 28, news emerged that Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) 59 had been cancelled after the majority of the local talent refused to compete on the show. Instead, the event, which was scheduled to take place in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia, became the medium for a geopolitical tinderbox between neighbouring North Caucasus republics.
Tensions rose after ACB owner Mairbek Khasiev allegedly made disparaging comments about Ossetia’s tense history with Muslim republics like Ingushetia, which shares a border with Chechnya. The comments, which were taken to be hate speech by many, raised concerns among the local Ossetian talent featured on the show, all of whom were insulted by their new employer’s viewpoint on their history and people.