KHABAROVSK, August 21. /TASS/. Investigators in the Russian Far East city of Khabarovsk denied early media reports on the arrest of a suspect in the murder of Andrei Drachev, the world and European champion in powerlifting.

On August 20 a conflict broke out between Drachev and the suspect, who according to unconfirmed information is a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter and they entered a fight on one of the streets in central Khabarovsk. The MMA fighter delivered several punches, which turned out to be lethal for Drachev.

A source close to the situation told TASS earlier in the day that the suspect had been detained on Sunday night.

"The man suspected on inflicting deadly injuries to Drachev is still at large and law enforcers carry on with measures aimed to detain the suspect," Ilya Gudkov, a senior aide to the head of the Khabarovsk Territory’s Investigative Committee, said in an interview with TASS.

According to eyewitnesses’ recollection of events, both participants of the conflict argued whose sport was more efficient in the ring and they began fighting. The MMA fighter knocked the powerlifter down to the ground with a roundhouse kick and then delivered a series of punches in the head, while Drachev was still lying and offering no resistance.