The UFC has cancelled Khusein Askhabov’s UFC Vegas 80 battle with Daniel Pineda following a report of his arrest in Thailand on kidnap, torture, and extortion costs after allegedly kidnapping an Italian man in Phuket.
The promotion launched an announcement on Monday, hours after the discharge of a report by The Phuket Information that mentioned the UFC vet and his twin brother have been arrested in reference to an alleged house invasion and theft on Sept. 3 at a villa within the beachside Thai city.
“UFC is conscious of the current arrest and allegations concerning Khusein Askhabov,” said the UFC’s press launch on its web site. The group will proceed to assemble further particulars concerning the incident. UFC will permit the authorized course of to play out earlier than making any further statements, nonetheless, his scheduled battle on October 7 has been canceled.”
It’s unclear on the time of this writing whom Pineda will face at UFC Vegas 80, which takes place Oct. 7 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
Askhabov, a local of Kazakhstan, was set to make his second octagon look after a debut loss to Jamall Emmers at UFC Vegas 69 in February.
In line with Phuket Information report, Askhabov’s arrest got here after a warrant was issued on Sept. 4 that recognized he and his twin brother, Khasan Askhabov, as one in every of three Kazak nationals accused of finishing up the break-in, throughout which the alleged thieves robbed the person of things believed to be value a complete of 12 million Thai bhat, or roughly $337,881. Amongst these alleged gadgets have been three luxurious watches, an Apple laptop computer and telephone, the alleged sufferer’s passport and debit card, and others.
The report said the alleged thieves shocked the Italian man in his sleep and sure and gagged him. Over a number of hours, they beat him whereas interrogating him for info; one other unknown particular person allegedly tipped them off about his valuables and spoke to the alleged thieves in the course of the theft.
After the alleged thieves left, the person managed to flee to security; he reportedly suffered bruises and contusions on his physique from the beating. The lads have been reportedly confirmed to have flown from Phuket to Dubai on Sept. 4, the day after the alleged assault.
