Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov made rounds recently after warning UFC President Dana White over the controversial split decision draw in Jan Blachowicz vs Magomed Anklaev’s title fight at UFC 282 in Las Vegas. Kadyrov wrote to White where he can be seen slamming the UFC President for letting “politics” affect the outcome of the fight.
Kadyrov also demanded White reverse the decision and award the UFC title belt to Magomed Ankalaev, while asking White to “save the face of the league, your own face. Admit your mistake, give the belt to the real winner, and apologize for this show. Save your league’s reputation.”
Magomed Ankalaev fights out of Fight Club Akhmat, a gym founded and run by the Chechnyan leader. Other fighters who are associated with Kadyrov are Albert Duraev and Said Nurmagomedov. More recently, Khamzat Chimaev was spotted with Kadyrov’s son at UFC 280 and the Borz is regularly seen training with them with posts on social media catching eyeballs from UFC fans around the world.
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It’s interesting to note, the U.S. Treasury Department in 2017 put sanctions on Ramzan Kadyrov, meaning American citizens are forbidden to do business with the Chechnyan leader. While one wonders why UFC President Dana White continues to sign fighters associated with Kadyrov, photos of Justin Gaethje, Henry Cejudo, and Kamaru Usman in Chechnya alongside Ramzan Kadyrov have raised more eyebrows.
Justin Gaethje, Henry Cejudo, and Kamaru Usman were spotted with Ramzan Kadyrov in Chechnya
Khamzat Chimaev traveling to Chechnya and Magomed Ankalaev being directly associated with Ramzan Kadyrov is a different story, considering they are not American citizens, that is not the case with Justin Gaethje, Henry Cejudo, and Kamaru Usman who were spotted in Chechnya earlier this year.
Former UFC champs Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, along with Justin Gaethje, are all currently in Chechnya at the invitation of the republic’s warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.
Here they are testing out guns at a special forces facility in Gudermes. pic.twitter.com/lJIm8kBHRS
— Karim Zidan (@ZidanSports) November 25, 2022
It is interesting to note, all these fighters are signed by Ali Abdelaziz, under Dominance MMA. State Department spokesman told MMAJunkie, “We reiterate that U.S. citizens should not travel to Russia and those in Russia should depart immediately.” The spokesperson also added, “The Department of State is aware of Kadyrov’s association with Chechen UFC. fighters.”
While it’s not clear whether Cejudo, Gaethje, and Usman broke any law, it’s safe to say a warning has been served to the UFC fighters.
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