The aftermath of Airtox Dominance FC 8 has officially delivered a dramatic shift in the professional record books. Former UFC fighter Khusein Askhabov has seen his recent first-round technical knockout victory against Reinaldo Ekson completely overturned. Following a thorough review of the lightweight co-main event, the Danish MMA Federation (DMMAF) determined that Askhabov’s conduct during a critical timeout warranted a direct disqualification, rewriting the conclusion of a fight that had originally ended in controversial chaos.
The initial event took place on October 17 in Copenhagen, Denmark, serving as the high-profile co-main event of the Airtox Dominance FC 8 card. During the opening round of the lightweight contest, proceedings derailed when an accidental or deliberate eye poke led to a temporary stoppage in the action. While Ekson was being evaluated and treated during the timeout, an explosive altercation erupted inside the cage. Askhabov aggressively attacked Ekson while the Brazilian fighter was under medical care. Despite the chaotic scenes that unfolded, the referee on duty ultimately awarded Askhabov the TKO victory on the spot, a decision that immediately sparked outrage and protests from Ekson’s coaching staff and supporters across social media platforms.
After weeks of gathering perspectives, reviewing cage footage, and weighing the parameters of the governing rules, the DMMAF announced its definitive verdict on Monday, officially reversing the outcome of the bout.
“Having reviewed the incident, DMMAF has determined that Askhabov’s actions during the timeout constituted a serious violation of the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts and warranted disqualification, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the initial stoppage,” the federation stated in an official release.
The regulatory body did not stop at merely altering the official fight result. Both Askhabov and his cornermen were handed severe, sweeping sanctions for their roles in the cage-side melee. The commission announced a mandatory 12-month suspension for Askhabov and his entire corner team “from all DMMAF-sanctioned events and activities, including participation as a fighter, coach, cornerman, or in any other capacity, in accordance with the federation’s Code of Conduct.”
Elaborating further on the severity of the punishment, the DMMAF made it clear that professional standards of conduct must be strictly upheld at all times within their jurisdiction.
“DMMAF strongly condemns the conduct displayed during the incident,” the statement continued. “Attempts to attack an opponent during a timeout, disregard for the referee’s instructions, and unauthorised interference from corner teams are unacceptable and have no place in professional MMA.”
For Reinaldo Ekson, Monday’s announcement brought a long-awaited sense of vindication. Speaking directly to MMA Fighting shortly after the federation released its final decision, Ekson expressed his satisfaction with the commission’s ruling and maintained that integrity had ultimately prevailed.
“The federation’s decision was fair,” Ekson said. “At no point did I want to tarnish my opponent’s reputation or harm him, but justice prevailed. I was wronged by what happened, and thank God the federation made a fair decision.”
Ekson also used the opportunity to shed light on the intense physical toll the bout took on him, pointing out that the controversy began long before the final chaotic timeout. According to Ekson, an illegal strike to the back of his head earlier in the fight nearly forced a premature and devastating end to his night, setting off a chain reaction of adversity that he had to fight through inside the cage.
“The blow to the back of the head was the hardest one,” Ekson explained, recounting the harrowing moments when he questioned whether he could continue. “It affected me a lot and sent a shock through my entire cervical spine all the way down to my leg. I stayed there for four minutes and thought I might not come back, but my corner encouraged me. I ended up returning while still feeling the loss of strength caused by the blow to the back of my head.”
Askhabov, whose career has previously intersected with major headlines—including a brief one-fight stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championship followed by his release in 2023 after being arrested for alleged involvement in a kidnapping, torture, and extortion scheme in Thailand—did not let the ruling pass in silence. Taking to social media, the fighter from Chechnya voiced his fierce discontent directly on the DMMAF’s official Instagram post announcing the overturned decision.
“I came there to fight. That’s all I wanted,” Askhabov wrote in his public response. “Throughout the fight, my opponent repeatedly insulted me and tried to provoke me. In my eyes, [he] was already mentally broken and looking for every possible excuse to escape the fight. I understand that emotions were high and mistakes were made. It is even not a no contest? But how on earth does he get declared the winner? How he beat me? I came to fight, not to watch someone walk away and get rewarded with a win.”
Askhabov continued to challenge the logic of handing his opponent a victory after a disqualification, arguing that the athletic commission’s penalty failed to reflect the actual performance inside the cage.
“The fans saw this! You can punish me for actions, but that doesn’t mean my opponent deserves a victory he didn’t earn inside the cage. Where is the fairness in that? This decision makes absolutely no sense to me. I want to make one thing absolutely clear: I never had any intention of hurting my opponent or anyone from his team.”
Reinaldo Ekson, however, vehemently disputed Askhabov’s narrative regarding the events that led up to the violent confrontation during the timeout. Providing his detailed account of the sequence, Ekson asserted that the escalation was entirely driven by Askhabov’s unsportsmanlike behavior while doctors were actively trying to examine his compromised eye.
“The fight restarted [after the illegal strike to the back of the head] and he managed to take me down and started throwing strikes,” Ekson recalled. “He put his hand on my eye and used his thumb to scratch it, and that scratch left me completely dazed, with blurred vision. My eye became very irritated, and I spent seven days using antibiotics that the event doctor himself recommended.”
Ekson detailed how the verbal exchanges quickly deteriorated into a physical confrontation because of Askhabov’s persistent taunting while medical personnel were carrying out their evaluation.
“He started taunting me while I was being examined by the doctor, calling me to fight. I told him ‘f*ck you.’ He got angry and came at me, along with his team. I only left the cage because the doctor had already told me several times that he had been disqualified. A security guard grabbed my arm and said, ‘Let’s go.’ The security guard took me out of the cage. I wasn’t the one who wanted to stop the fight, and the doctor had already confirmed his disqualification.”
With the DMMAF having finalized its review and issued its strict year-long suspensions, the chapter on Airtox Dominance FC 8’s chaotic co-main event has reached a regulatory conclusion, altering Askhabov’s professional record and cementing a heavily disputed victory for Ekson.
