MOSCOW, May 28 (RAPSI) - MMA fighter Alexander Emelianenko has appealed a 4.5-year sentence he received for sexual assault, Moscow’s Simonovsky District Court’s spokesman Oleg Shassayev told RAPSI on Thursday.

Emelianenko was sentenced on May 19. The court also imposed a 50,000-ruble fine on him.

According to investigators, Emelianenko assaulted and raped 27-year-old Polina Stepanova, his housekeeper, on the night of March 2, 2014, and then seized her passport. The trial was held behind closed doors.

Emelianenko has pleaded not guilty and claimed that sex with the girl was consensual.

Alexander Emelianenko is a Russian mixed martial arts fighter who has represented the country at many international championships. He ranked as the No.73 heavyweight in the world in 2013. His younger brother Fedor Emelianenko is believed to be the greatest mixed martial arts fighter in history.

Unlike his brother, Alexander is often implicated in scandals, usually as a result of alleged heavy drinking. Earlier, he was charged with assaulting a retired person at a Moscow café. The criminal case against Emelianenko was dropped after a settlement had been reached.