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Russian Top Team boss dies in plane crash
By Zach Arnold | September 15, 2008
Vladimir Pogodin, who was the boss of the Russian Top Team army of MMA fighters that had great influence on the Japanese MMA scene in the late 1990s and early part of this decade, has reportedly died in a plane crash in Russia. RTT once held a stable of fighters that included Fedor, Sergey Kharitonov, and Mikhail Ilioukhine. It was a top force for the RINGS promotion before becoming a powerful force in PRIDE.
The news of Pogodin’s death is a big story in Japanese media circles because of Pogodin’s connection with Fedor. In addition, Pogodin was responsible for helping broker a deal to set up the famous Akira Maeda/Aleksandr Karelin RINGS fight a decade ago.
Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |