Former MMA fighter Medet Zheenaliev died at the age of 30 this week after jumping into Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan to rescue four teenage girls, according to The Sun. Zheenaliev, who competed in Russia, was enjoying time with friends at the lake when he noticed one of the girls struggling in a strong current.
The MMA star and a friend helped the four girls return to shore, but Zheenaliev went under the surface of the water and did not return. Divers found his body at the bottom of the lake, which is the eighth-deepest and eleventh-largest in the world, the following day.
The Sun reported that his death has been labeled a drowning during a rescue mission. Zheenaliev competed in four MMA fights in his career between 2017 and 2019, posting a record of 2-2.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
He began his career with a victory over Vladimir Kravchuk via a first-round arm-bar submission. Six months later, he followed that up with another first-round victory by knockout against Shamil Temirkhanov. Zheenaliev fought again a month later, but suffered defeat by submission against Akhmadkhan Bokov in the second round.
He did not fight again for 16 months, ending his career in August 2019 after losing due to a doctor's stoppage in the first round. According to his page on tapology.com, Zheenaliev was set to fight a fifth bout against Samray Shaykhamodov in September 2019, but the fight was cancelled for an unspecified reason.