Hugely-followed blogger Artem Tarasov has protested his innocence after being detained by police on a train alongside fellow MMA fighter Nikita Solonin in Russia, having reportedly been involved in a drunken attack on a passenger.
In footage following the alleged incident, Tarasov appeared to be remonstrating with police at a station before Solonin, who was sporting a black eye, was seen filming inside a police facility, including an exchange with a smiling man who appeared to be a police officer.
The pair were said to have been taken in to "sober up", with Tarasov seeming to tell his vast Instagram following of more than 718,000 that they had been treated unfairly because of the involvement of a bank vice-president named by the fighter as Andrey Sorokin.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the North-West Federal District said that two men from St. Petersburg were "intoxicated" on the train between Moscow and their home city.
"In the presence of witnesses, they expressed obscene language and insulted another passenger," the ministry said in a statement shared by Tass.
"In addition, on the platform of the Moscow railway station, one of them struck this passenger in the face."
Tarasov shared a four-minute video of the set-to on his YouTube channel, which has more than a million subscribers.
“The man who ran into Solonin turned out to be the vice-president of the bank – Andrey Sorokin," he said, claiming that Sorokin's "acquaintances turned out to be in the linear police department."
"I am generally shocked by everything that is happening. Then they wonder why we do not like the authorities and the police.
"I am 30 years old and for the first time in my life I am sitting in a police department with my friend... you should be fine if you are the vice-president of the bank."
Lightweight Tarasov has won all six of his fights in the last three years, featuring on promotions including Fight for Hype, Top Fight and M-1.
Solonin is a featherweight with a record of five wins and three defeats, most recently appearing when he won on an M-1 card in August 2018.
Police are said to be continuing their investigations into the incident.
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