World champion weightlifter dies after sickening street brawl with MMA fighter

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

An MMA fighter allegedly killed a weightlifting champion after a heated argument about which sport was better.

The Sun reported former world and European champion Andrey Drachev, 32, died after a street brawl with another man, believed to be 25-year-old Anar Allakhveranov, on Monday (New Zealand time).

Video showed the two men brawling shirtless on the street, a fight reportedly sparked by an argument over whether Mixed Martial Arts was the superior sport.

Drachev was killed after trading kicks and punches with another man outside a cafe in the city of Khabarovsk in southeastern Russia's Khabarovsk Krai region.

The other man is seen knocking Drachev to the ground, proceeding to land more punches to the seemingly unconscious weightlifter's head.

According to Crime Russia, Allakhveranov was identified by law enforcement as the man who delivered a wheel kick and repeated punches to the face of his victim.

The Sun reported today that two witnesses attempted to stop the altercation but Drachev died from his injuries and Allakhveranov was arrested by police.

The cause of death is believed to be from a craniocerebral injury.

Allakhveranov appeared to have been trained in MMA fighting, with videos posted online showing him honing various techniques.

Drachev, in addition to winning silver at the world power-lifting championships in 2011, was also a champion fighter in his native Russia.

In April, Drachev participated in the open Bodybuilding Championship of the Primorsky region for the first time and took first place in the category 'Extreme Bodybuilding'.