Suspect Arrested in Stabbing of Bulgarian MMA Champ

Blagoi Ivanov aka Bagata won the gold medal in the 2008 World Sambo Championships and the bronze in the 2006 world contest. Photo by BGNES

The main suspect in the stabbing of Bulgarian MMA fighter, Blagoi Ivanov AKA Bagata, - 23-year-old D.S. known as Dampela, is been kept behind bars for 72 hours.

The news was reported Tuesday by the Interior Ministry's press center.

The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office has charged Dampela with premeditated murder. The arrest came in the aftermath of Monday police raids and collection of evidence.

The investigative team includes criminal policemen from 1st Sofia Police Precinct and from the Main Directorate Criminal Police. 17 people – participants in the brawl, eyewitnesses, and waiters from the Sofia bar where the incident occurred have been interrogated. Police have also examined CCTV records.

The questioning has led to the conclusion that the crime was due to the consumption of very large amount of alcohol. Police is on the lookout for other participants in the fight.

Dampela has a criminal record for extortion, drug possession and distribution, and fake car registration documents.

Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, declared this is a purely criminal case triggered by drunken rage.

It was reported meanwhile that Bagata has been upgraded from critical to stable condition in the Sofia emergency Pirogov hospital.

Sunday night Ivanov and two of his friends had just occupied their places in a bar on Graf Ignatiev Str., in downtown Sofia, when a group of 8 persons armed with bats and knives allegedly came in and attacked them.

At 5.10 am police came in to find the attackers escaped and Ivanov with a deep stab wound under his armpit.

Ivanov's two companions have suffered only light wounds and bruises and have been discharged by the hospital.

Many of the witnesses of the brawl were inebriated at the time, which has made the work of police harder.

Blagoi Ivanov aka Bagata won the gold medal in the 2008 World Sambo Championships and the bronze in the 2006 world contest. He is known in Bulgaria for organizing and participating in so-called "free fights," in which the audience bet on the outcome.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!