Investigation launched into ‘fatal poisoning’ of Russian fighter

Aleksandr Pisarev died at the age of 33 while his wife remains in hospital

Russian officials are investigating the death of MMA fighter Aleksandr Pisarev, who is believed to have suffered fatal poisoning from an as yet unidentified substance.

Pisarev died at the age of 33 after he and his wife fell on October 30, according to Russian media reports. The former fighter’s spouse remains in hospital.

Members of Pisarev’s team told TASS that he had “died in his sleep and did not have any chronic health problems.”

“According to preliminary data, his death was the result of food poisoning,” a source added.

Investigators in the city of Balashikha, which lies around 20km to the east of Moscow, have since announced that they are officially looking into the circumstances of Pisarev’s passing.

“An investigation was organized into the death of an athlete as a result of poisoning...,” read a message on the Telegram channel of the Moscow Region Investigative Committee.

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“Investigators, with the participation of a forensic specialist, are conducting an additional inspection of the scene, confiscating items relevant to the investigation, and planning a forensic chemical examination.”

Several reports have indicated that the food in question was watermelon.

Elsewhere, however, the BAZA Telegram channel claimed that the athlete died of opioid poisoning, although it remains unclear how it entered his body.

Pisarev fought five times in professional MMA, competing under the RCC and Fights Nights banners in his homeland and earning a record of three wins and two defeats.

The featherweight fighter last appeared in action in Ekaterinburg in February 2020, when he lost to countryman Maxim Usoyan via submission.

Pisarev was also a Moscow champion in hand-to-hand combat and grappling, as well as a Russian Central Federal District MMA champion.