On April 26, the first stadium tournament of the new Force FC organization took place in Rostov-on-Don. In the main event of the evening, bare-knuckle fighting star Lendrush "Leko" Akopyan faced Sulambek "The Scarlet Beast" Shakhgiriev.
The fight ended with Shakhgiriev winning by a split decision after three rounds. One judge scored the fight 3-0 in favor of Akopyan, another judge scored it 3-0 for Shakhgiriev, and the third judge awarded the win to Shakhgiriev with a 2-1 score. The decision surprised many spectators, who believed that Lendrush had clearly won the first two rounds and only lost the last one, which should have secured him the victory. After the fight, Shakhgiriev admitted that the bout could have been ruled a draw and expressed his willingness to have a rematch. However, Akopyan declined, stating he was confident he had won.
Following the bout, Lendrush Akopyan announced he would no longer compete in bare-knuckle fighting and would instead focus on his professional boxing career, where he holds an undefeated record of 10 wins, 0 losses, and 1 draw.
"This was my last bare-knuckle fight, and I no longer want to compete in bare-knuckle events. I have plans in boxing. But this fight, I did not lose," said Lendrush "Leko" Akopyan.