Chechen MMA fighter pulls gun on Iranian opponent during podcast, forces him to kneel

A Chechen MMA fighter is being investigated after allegedly threatening his rival with a gun during a podcast recording. The incident reportedly took place…

By: Karim Zidan | 9 months ago
Chechen MMA fighter pulls gun on Iranian opponent during podcast, forces him to kneel
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

A Chechen MMA fighter is being investigated after allegedly threatening his rival with a gun during a podcast recording.

The incident reportedly took place on August 21, when Shovkhal Churchaev appeared on the set of the “Rating Brothers” podcast in Moscow, Russia, alongside his Iranian opponent Mohammad Hebati.

Though the conversation remained civil for the vast majority of the interview, Churchaev closed out the show by attacking Hebati with a flurry of punches that forced the Iranian fighter to the ground. The Chechen fighter then proceeded to pull a gun and demanded that Hebati kneel before him.

Footage from the attack was later published on the podcast’s YouTube channel.

Following the incident, Hebati revealed that the Iranian embassy in Russia had been notified of the situation and were in the process of resolving the matter.

“The Iranian ambassador contacted me and invited me to his place,” Hebati said. “We talked to him, I told him what happened. Now the Iranian ambassador wants to resolve this issue. A person is threatened with a gun, this is no longer a trash talk.”

Churchaev, who holds a 3-0 pro record, also drew the ire of Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov, who vowed to punish the Chechen fighter for his “inappropriate behavior.”

The Chechen fighter could also face up to two years in prison if law enforcement choose to file charges.

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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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