How Gadji Gadjiev and His Associates Came to Lead Kazakhstan’s Strength Sports Federations

On October 14, ORDA News aired an interview between Orda.kz editor-in-chief Gulnara Bazhkenova and Kairat Reimov, head of AlmatyMetroQurylys.

The conversation turned to the leadership of Kazakhstan’s sports federations — particularly those linked to Gadji Gadjiev.

Orda.kzreviewed public data to identify who manages these organizations and what connections they may share.

Reimov himself led the Kazakhstan Professional Boxing Federation until 2022. He emphasized that sports leadership should rest with people who have both athletic experience and business acumen.

I believe that federations should be headed by people who have had some connection to sport, firstly. Secondly, they should have achieved something in business, so they can also systematize things there.

Some current federation heads meet those standards — such as karate champion Viktor Pak or Olympic medalist Daulet Turlykhanov, now a member of parliament. Others are high-ranking officials or executives from national companies, including Kuanyshbek Yessekeyev (Judo Federation) and Ruslan Zhaqsylyqov (Sport and Combat Sambo Federation).

But a notable cluster of “power” sports — MMA, wushu, weightlifting, and others — is led by Gadji Gadjiev or people close to him.

MMA and Wushu

According to Gajiev's biography, he has been involved in the leadership of strength sports organizations since 2009. That year, he became a member of the presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republican Union of Martial Arts of Kazakhstan.

This organization still exists today, although Gadjiev is not mentioned in its leadership. However, one of the union's founders is the Daido Juku Kudo Federation, which is now led by people with ties to Gadjiev.

Since 2015, Gadji Gadjiev has headed the republican Federation of Nomad MMA — a mixed martial art developed in 2005 by wrestler and current deputy of the Karaganda City Council, Sergey An. 

Along with his son, Stanislav, he is also a founding member of the Daido Juku Kudo Federation. Like the president of the World Association of Nomad MMA, Mukhtar Tinikeyev is a former deputy and, since 2017, the permanent deputy chair of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Gadjiev has no connection to the leadership of the MMA Federation itself. It is headed by Alik Aidarbayev, a former top manager at KazMunayGas and, since July of this year, the general director of the oil company Kalamkas-Khazar Operating.

However, as Orda.kz previously reported, Gadjiev, president of the Nomad MMA Federation of Kazakhstan, has at least a friendly, and at most a family, relationship with Kamil Gadjiev, owner of the Russian MMA promotion Fight Night.

From 2016 to 2018, Gadji Gadjiev headed the Kung Fu Association of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Information about its existence has not yet been found. 

It has a social media page, but the most recent posts date back to 2017.

In 2016, "Vremya" mentioned Gadjiyev as the head of the Kazakhstan Wushu Association. The article states that, with the support of Serik Zharasbayev, the current Deputy Minister of Tourism and Sports and then Deputy Chair of the Sports Committee, they attempted to secure recognition of the International Wushu Federation for this organization. 

Some athletes opposed it, and the organization never came to be.

Still, Kazakhstan does have a Wushu and Kung Fu Federation; Gadji Gadjiev is directly involved.

Pencak Silat Federation 

Gadjiev has headed the Pencak Silat Federation, an Indonesian martial art, since 2018, and according to Kompra.kz, since July 2019.

He succeeded the federation's founder, Medet Abzhanov, a coach who was embroiled in a scandal at the 2014 Asian Games. Abzhanov was accused of harassing a female volunteer. Incidentally, he currently heads the Wushu and Kung Fu Federation of the Qaraganda Region, which is listed as one of the founders (stakeholders) of the republic's Pencak Silat Federation.

Abzhanov is also listed as the first director of Kazmeet Group LLP, of ​​which Gadji Gadjiev is one of the founders (stakeholders). 

Gadjiev seems to have held no new senior positions in sport for the following six years.

On December 11, 2024, he became president of the Kazakhstan Weightlifting Federation. Before this, Gadjiev served as vice president of the KWF. He took over the federation on his second attempt —in 2023, Gadjiev was already among the contenders for the post of KWF president.

However, the federation members then re-elected former KMG International General Director Zhanat Tusupbekov, who had previously headed the federation from 2013 to 2022. In 2024, Gadjiev succeeded. 

In April 2025, Gadji Gadjiev assumed the position of president of the aforementioned Wushu and Kung Fu Federation, which had previously been experiencing a protracted crisis due to a conflict between athletes and the previous leadership of the federation.

Wushu athletes have not yet complained about the new leadership. The names of the founders (stakeholders) of the Wushu and Kung Fu Federation contain similarities. 

List of current founders (stakeholders):

[attachment=116:1760627805_ush.pdf] 

Among the founders is Omar-Jalal Aliyev.

He is the son of Givergis Aliyev, the former founder of SA Construction Group, which has been owned by Gadji Gadjiev since 2017. Givergis Aliyev himself is the son of renowned sambo champion Supiyan Aliyev. 

Boxing, Taekwondo, and More Boxing

On February 5, 2024, an eye-catching piece of news broke: Kenges Rakishev resigned as president of the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation, a post he had held since 2019. His position was taken by Shakhmurat Mutalip, a man about whom virtually nothing was previously known except his career.

Even now, only brief details of his career are known.

Since 2022, Shakhmurat Mutalip has owned Integra Construction KZ. From March 2021 to September 2022, Kudrat Shamiyev served as its first director. Currently, on the Integra Construction KZ website, Shakhmurat Mutalip is listed as the beneficial owner, and Shamiyev is listed as the chair of the supervisory board.

It is known that Shamiyev worked in management and expert positions in several companies, including Naiza-Qurylys.

Kudrat Shamiyev has also headed the Kazakhstan Taekwondo Federation since September 2024. He assumed this position after millionaire Vyacheslav Kim stepped down as president of the KTF in August of that year.

Integra Construction KZ hasn't always had its current name. Until 2017, it was known as Zhol Zhondeushi Company LLP, where Gadji Gadjiev served as its managing director from 2015 to 2017.

And finally, on April 23, 2025, the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan announced a change in the Executive Committee, which consists of five vice presidents.

Among them, as of April, are:

• Gadji Gadjiev — Vice President for General Affairs
• Shakhmurat Mutalip — Vice President for International Cooperation
• Serik Zharasbayev — Vice President for Regional Affairs

Zharasbayev, back in 2016, supported the now-defunct Wushu Association of Kazakhstan, which was associated with Gadjiev.

What about the Kazakhstan Professional Boxing Federation, mentioned in the interview with Kairat Reimov?

Changes also took place there in 2024. On January 13 of last year, Rakhimzhan Yerdenbekov, who had previously served as the federation's vice president, took over as its head. There's also very little information about Yerdenbekov in open sources.

His Instagram account reveals that he did, in fact, box. He has no public connection to Gadji Gadjiev.

On December 20, 2024, a tournament was held in Astana, organized by the KFPB. It was called Fight Night Boxing. Apparently, the main organizer of the tournament was the aforementioned Russian promotion, Kamil Gadjiev’s Fight Night.

However, judging by the official website, the KFPB also held sporting events in collaboration with other organizations.

Another Association

There's also a Martial Arts Association in Kazakhstan, which unites several strength sports federations.

According to the association's official website, it's headed by Yermek Saginbayev, Chair of the National Security Committee (KNB), who has held this post since January 6, 2022.

One of the vice presidents of the ABA is Gabit Syzdykbekov, Akim of Shymkent, who worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until September 2021.

Original Authors: Igor Ulitin, Alexandra Mokhireva