Fabricio Werdum explain how he was gifted a Mercedes by Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov

In 2015, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum signed a lucrative deal to become an ambassador for a mixed martial arts fight club headed…

By: Karim Zidan | 10 months ago
Fabricio Werdum explain how he was gifted a Mercedes by Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

In 2015, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum signed a lucrative deal to become an ambassador for a mixed martial arts fight club headed by Ramzan Kadyrov.

The incident marked the first time that a UFC fighter had established a relationship with the Chechen dictator accused of well-documented human rights abuses, including forced disappearances, torture, summary executions and an ongoing purge of Chechnya’s LGBTQ+ community.

As the official representative of the so-called Akhmat MMA fight club, Werdum’s responsibilities included regular visits to Chechnya, training the dictator’s chosen fighters, and promoting the club on social media and at UFC events.

During an episode of Brazilian podcast Podpah, Werdum recalled how his decision to promote Kadyrov’s fight club during a UFC event led to him being gifted a Mercedes Benz.

“So I represented Akhmat Fight Club for three years,” Werdum said. “So whenever I say something, it was always Akhmat Sila. I was the president’s MMA representative, right? Then I fought in the UFC…So I’m in the fight, fight is over, I won, I gave the interview and when Joe Rogan was leaving, I took the mic and said ‘Akhmat Sila.’

“Man, when I said ‘Akhmat Sila,’ I got off the octagon and the president called me on FaceTime, ‘Werdum, I really liked it! Akhmat Sila! When you come home, go wherever you want and buy the car you want, I want to give you a car as a gift.’ I said, ‘No I can’t take it.’ ‘Yes you can, take the car you want’… I went to Mercedes. I stopped by Mercedes very quickly.”

Akhmat Sila is a battle cry popularized by Kadyrov that translates to Akhmat Power. It is a propaganda slogan that is utilized by Kadyrov loyalists to honor Akhmad Kadyrov, the Chechen strongman’s father who was killed in 2004.

Werdum’s affiliation to Kadyrov has raised concerns about prominent UFC fighters associating with a warlord with a long list of human rights abuses to his name. However, when the Ufc was asked about the relationship in 2015, the organization stated that “UFC fighters operate as independent business partners, not employees, and that subject to their contractual commitments to UFC they are free to conduct business and to participate in activities as they choose.”

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About the author
Karim Zidan
Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.

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