Where Are They Now: Mahatch FC Veterans
Mahatch FC was building something remarkable in Ukraine. Operating out of Kyiv, the bare knuckle promotion had developed a format, a roster, and a production model that was beginning to attract international attention. The fights were raw and compelling. The fighters were drawn from Ukraine's deep combat sports tradition. The YouTube channel was growing. Everything suggested that Mahatch was on the verge of becoming a major player in the global underground fighting scene.
Then, on February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And everything changed.
The story of where Mahatch FC veterans are now is unlike any other "where are they now" in combat sports. It is not a story about career transitions, retirement decisions, or promotional politics. It is a story about war -- and what happens to fighters when the fighting becomes real.
The Day Everything Stopped
When the invasion began, Mahatch FC's operations ceased immediately. The promotion's headquarters in Kyiv was in a city under attack. The logistical infrastructure required to stage events -- venues, production equipment, medical staff, transportation -- was either destroyed, requisitioned, or simply irrelevant in the face of an existential military threat.
The fighters who had been building careers in Mahatch's ring woke up to air raid sirens instead of alarm clocks. The question was no longer "who do I fight next?" but "do I stay or do I go?" For Ukrainian men of fighting age, the question was often answered for them by martial law restrictions on male emigration.
In a single day, every Mahatch FC fighter's career trajectory was interrupted, and the interruption had nothing to do with injuries, contracts, or competitive decline. It was war. Pure and simple.
Denys Berinchyk: From Bare Knuckle to the Front Lines
Denys Berinchyk was one of Mahatch FC's most prominent fighters -- a skilled boxer with the kind of technical proficiency that stood out in the bare knuckle format. His Mahatch performances showcased clean striking, excellent defensive movement, and the composure of a fighter who had trained extensively in traditional boxing before entering the bare knuckle world.
When the invasion began, Berinchyk -- like many Ukrainian combat sports athletes -- volunteered for military service. The transition from fighting in a ring to fighting in a war is not the natural progression that the word "fighter" might suggest. Combat sports and armed conflict share almost nothing in common beyond the willingness to face danger. But Ukrainian fighters brought physical conditioning, mental toughness, and a tolerance for stress that proved valuable in military contexts.
Berinchyk's wartime service has been documented in fragments -- social media posts, news reports, and occasional updates from the Ukrainian combat sports community. The full scope of his experience is not publicly available, as operational security limits what active military personnel can share. What is known is that he, like many Mahatch veterans, chose to defend his country rather than seek safety abroad.
The Fighters Who Enlisted
Mahatch FC's roster was composed primarily of young Ukrainian men -- precisely the demographic that bore the greatest burden of military mobilization. Many of the promotion's fighters enlisted in the Armed Forces of Ukraine or the Territorial Defense Forces in the early days of the invasion, joining a broader wave of Ukrainian athletes, coaches, and combat sports figures who took up arms.
The motivations were various. Some enlisted out of patriotic duty. Others were motivated by the defense of their families and communities. A few had military backgrounds that predated their fighting careers and were called up through reserve obligations. Regardless of the individual motivation, the result was the same: fighters who had trained to compete against individual opponents in a controlled environment found themselves in a conflict that was neither controlled nor individual.
Reports from the Ukrainian combat sports community suggest that several former Mahatch fighters served in active combat zones, including the battles for Kyiv, Kherson, and the ongoing fighting in the Donbas region. Casualty information is incomplete, but the Ukrainian fighting community has publicly mourned athletes killed in the conflict, and it would be naive to assume that all Mahatch veterans survived unscathed.
The Fighters Who Left Ukraine
Not all Mahatch FC fighters remained in Ukraine. Some left the country before martial law restricted male emigration. Others had dual citizenship or residency abroad that permitted them to leave. A smaller number left through irregular means.
These fighters scattered across Europe and beyond -- to Poland, Germany, the UK, and other countries that absorbed the Ukrainian refugee population. For those who wanted to continue fighting, the displacement created both obstacles and opportunities. European MMA and bare knuckle promotions gained access to a pool of experienced Ukrainian fighters, and some Mahatch veterans found competitive homes in new countries.
The psychological burden of fighting abroad while one's country is at war is impossible to quantify. Some displaced Mahatch fighters have spoken about survivor's guilt -- the knowledge that former training partners are serving on the front lines while they compete in European promotions. Others have channeled the displacement into motivation, fighting with an intensity fueled by national pride and personal anger.
Mahatch FC's Attempted Revival
As the initial chaos of the invasion stabilized into a prolonged conflict, Mahatch FC made attempts to resume operations. The promotion staged events when conditions permitted, though the scope and frequency were dramatically reduced from pre-war levels. Power outages, air raid warnings, and the general disruption of wartime life made event planning extraordinarily difficult.
The fighters who participated in these wartime events were competing under conditions that no other combat sports promotion in the world had to contend with. The possibility of an air raid interrupting a fight card was real. The emotional weight of competing while friends and teammates served on the front lines was constant. The logistical challenges of assembling fighters, production crews, and audiences in a country at war were immense.
That Mahatch FC staged any events at all during the conflict speaks to the stubbornness of the Ukrainian fighting spirit and the promotion's determination to maintain some semblance of normalcy in abnormal times. The fighters who competed in these wartime events demonstrated something that goes beyond athletic courage -- they demonstrated cultural resilience.
The Physical and Psychological Toll
War and fighting careers compound each other's damage in ways that are only beginning to be understood. Mahatch veterans who served in combat returned to civilian life -- if they returned at all -- carrying physical injuries and psychological trauma that would challenge any person, let alone someone whose livelihood depends on physical performance and mental clarity.
Traumatic brain injuries sustained in combat have different mechanisms than those sustained in fighting, but the cumulative effect is the same: cognitive impairment, emotional dysregulation, and long-term neurological risk. A fighter who survived both bare knuckle competition and active combat has been subjected to a double dose of the kind of physical stress that the human brain was not designed to withstand.
The Ukrainian government and various international organizations have established programs for veteran rehabilitation, but the specific needs of combat sports athletes returning from war have not been systematically addressed. Mahatch veterans who want to return to competition face medical, psychological, and practical barriers that have no precedent in the sport.
What Mahatch FC Means Now
The story of Mahatch FC and its fighters is ultimately a story about what happens when underground fighting -- already a marginal, undervalued activity -- collides with history. The promotion was building something. The fighters were building careers. The audience was growing. And then the world intervened in the most violent way possible.
The Mahatch veterans who survived the war carry experiences that no other group of fighters in the world shares. They know what it means to fight for money, for pride, and for content. They also know what it means to fight for survival, for territory, and for national existence. The two kinds of fighting are not the same, but the people who have done both occupy a unique position in the combat sports world.
Wherever Mahatch FC veterans are now -- serving in the military, recovering from injuries, competing in European promotions, or attempting to rebuild their lives in a country still at war -- they deserve recognition for what they endured. They were fighters before the war. They became something else during it. What they become after it will depend on circumstances that no sports article can predict.
Watch: Mahatch FC Fight Footage
Ukraine's bare knuckle promotion that was building something remarkable before war intervened.
- Mahatch FC -- Best Fights Compilation -- The most compelling bare knuckle bouts from Mahatch FC's Kyiv-based events before the 2022 Russian invasion.
- Denys Berinchyk -- Mahatch FC Highlights -- The skilled boxer whose technical proficiency stood out in the bare knuckle format before he volunteered for military service.
- Artem Lobov vs Denys Berinchyk -- Mahatch FC -- Lobov's bout against the Olympic silver medalist that prompted his retirement announcement in 2021.
- Mahatch FC -- Ukrainian Bare Knuckle Fighting -- An introduction to the promotion's format and the fighters drawn from Ukraine's deep combat sports tradition.
- Ukraine's Fighters Go to War -- Combat Sports Athletes in the Military -- How Ukrainian fighters, including Mahatch veterans, transitioned from the ring to the front lines after February 2022.
- Mahatch FC Returns -- Wartime Events -- The promotion's attempted revival during wartime, staging events despite power outages and air raid warnings.
For more on Mahatch FC's history and operations, see our Mahatch FC organization profile. For the story of another Eastern European underground promotion, read Where Are They Now: Strelka Champions.
