Another high-profile wrestler is headed to Bellator as Olympic silver medalist Kadi Magomedov has signed with the promotion.
Bellator announced Thursday that Magomedov – whose full name is Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau – agreed to a multifight, multiyear deal. He will compete in the featherweight division and is expected to debut later this year.
.@BellatorMMA is pleased to announce it’s newest free agent signing, @Olympics Silver Medalist, Kadi Magomedov to an exclusive, multi-fight, multi-year contact.
Magomedov will compete in the featherweight division and is expected to debut this year.https://t.co/TaUmX603eY pic.twitter.com/ESlEh5n0oV
— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) March 23, 2023
Magomed, who’s originally from Dagestan but represented Belarus, scored a huge shutout win over four-time NCAA national champion Kyle Dake in the freestyle quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Magomedov lost to Zaurbek Sidakov 7-0 in the gold-medal match.
While he embarks on his MMA journey, Magomedov, 28, isn’t giving up wrestling and plans to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Although he’s yet to compete, Magomedov is no stranger to MMA having trained with UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov and current UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Magomedov joins former NCAA champ Jordan Oliver and two-time NCAA finalist Bryce Meredith among the latest high-profile wrestlers to sign with Bellator.