A Ukrainian MMA star returns to the sport to defend the title belt he rescued from the rubble in his war-torn homeland

• MMA fighter Yaroslav Amosov returns to action for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine.
• The Bellator MMA champion retrieved his belt from the rubble in Irpin, Ukraine, last year and defends it February 25.

Scorch marks littered the exteriors of hollowed-out buildings in Irpin after Russian forces shelled the city in the weeks that followed the country's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Battle of Irpin spanned a little more than a month.

Russia's offensive began with missile strikes, according to France 24, but a Ukrainian counter — marked with urban fighting, and hand-to-hand combat — destroyed armored vehicles and helped to reclaim the city.

Irpin was liberated by the end of March.

Before the battle reached its worst point, the mother of Yaroslav Amosov, one of the city's top athletes, hid his championship belt in her home before evacuating to safety, a source close to Amosov told Insider last year.

That home was later shelled, but Amosov, alongside other soldiers in Irpin, went on a mission to retrieve the Bellator MMA title. Dressed in military gear, Amosov found the belt, still intact, and held it aloft for pictures, which were posted to Instagram.

A 'Russian rocket can hit' at any moment and 'people [in Irpin] could die,' Amosov said

"It was a great day," Amosov, through a translator, told Insider this week. "All my friends were around, they filmed it, and … it became a thing, yes, definitely a great moment to retrieve the belt because of what it meant at the time my city was liberated."

Half of Irpin's critical infrastructure was decimated in the early months of the war. The city, once a place of happiness, was instead laid to waste as it was "on fire, destroyed," Amosov told CNN last year.

Life there has since evolved to a new normal.

Things aren't like they were, Amosov told Insider, but people are meeting for coffee, and eating at Italian restaurants.

"People are out and about," he said. "But at any moment a Russian rocket can hit, and people could die. So it's not normal as other people's normal, but it's better than it was, and we're hoping things continue to normalize."

Amosov fights for the first time in almost two years Saturday when he headlines an MMA show in Europe

After retrieving his belts, Amosov said in a Bellator MMA promo video that his friends encouraged him to defend that title. So he has been training — splitting time in Germany and in Florida — to hold onto this cherished belt he pulled from the rubble.

On Saturday, February 25, at the Bellator 291 event in Dublin, Ireland, he will compete in a rematch against Logan Storley. It's his first fight since winning the title by out-pointing Muay Thai master Douglas Lima at Bellator 260 in June 2021.

"I feel great, and excited to be back," Amosov told Insider.

There are positive emotions, he said, adding that he finds motivation from any news that comes from Ukraine.

"Even the struggles that people are going through and the uncertainties serve as a great motivator" for this fight, he said.

Amosov: 'Putin is crazy'

In a final message, Amosov said he didn't want to speak too critically of Vladimir Putin but feels "it's pretty clear" that people from Ukraine, and "all over the world," want the Russian president to end the conflict.

"He entered a sovereign country for no reason, and he's killing innocent women and children with no clear goal in mind," Amosov said.

"Putin is crazy," he finished.

The Bellator 291 event takes place at Dublin's 3Arena and will be broadcast in the US on Showtime from 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT.