The Absolute Championships Berkut roster has grown by two fighters as a pair of UFC veterans in Marcin Held and Dmitry Poberezhets have been signed to contracts.
It was the ACB who made the announcements via Twitter:
Welcome to ACB... @MarcinHeld ---- pic.twitter.com/KTvp8vvQz5
— #ACB83 (@ACB_League) March 16, 2018
Welcome to ACB... Dmitry Poberezhets ---- pic.twitter.com/BjqYPlhBT7
— #ACB83 (@ACB_League) March 16, 2018
Held (23-7-0) won just one of four fights during his UFC tenure, with that single victory coming over Nasrat Haqparast at UFC Fight Night Gdansk. Held has also previously challenged for the Bellator MMA Lightweight Title, losing to then champion Will Brooks at Bellator 145. Held did suffer three losses in the UFC, with those defeats coming to Diego Sanchez, Joe Lauzon and Damir Hadzovic.
Poberezhets (24-5-1-1NC) never actually had the opportunity to compete in the UFC, because both of his Octagon appearances were canceled due to injury. Poberezhets does enter the ACB on a fourteen fight winning streak and the fighter hasn’t suffered a defeat in over six years. Poberezhets is also a former The Zone FC Heavyweight Champion, defeating Eddy Bengtsson to win the gold in November of 2012.
There is no official word as to when either fighter could make their promotional debut, but it should come sometime this year.
