This top MMA fighter and vice-president of the MMA Federation of Uzbekistan has died after his BMW X5 hit another car and flew off the road, killing him on the spot.

Murod Kanturaev, 34, who was a heavyweight champion MMA fighter and the vice-president of the MMA Federation of Uzbekistan, has died near Tashkent in the road accident, according to the press service for the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan.

The incident took place in the Bostanlyk district of the Tashkent region in north-eastern Uzbekistan, with Kanturaev’s BMW X5 hitting the other car – a Lacetti, although the make is unclear – before flying off the road on 19th July (Monday).

The incident took place at about 11:30 AM, according to local traffic police.

According to local media, the athlete, known to the world as the “Asian bear”, died at the scene. A passenger in his car, who has not been identified, has been hospitalised with unspecified injuries.

The fighter, who had just turned 34 on 4th July, had not fought since 2018, when he was attacked. His father had later stated that he may never fight again after sustaining serious injuries in that incident, which saw seven attackers jailed for between three and six years.

Kanturaev had been a professional, heavyweight MMA fighter since 2013. He had 15 fights under his belt, including 12 victories, and he had served as the vice-president of the MMA Federation of Uzbekistan since 2019.

On his Instagram profile where he shared his stories with his 15k followers it said that he was a world champion in MuayThai and confirms that he died this year.