UFC 280 Video: Khamzat Chimaev restrained by security after altercation with Khabib’s cousin

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Khamzat Chimaev continues to be a lighting rod for controversy.

The UFC star reportedly got into an altercation with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin, Abubakar, following the main event of UFC 280 Abu Dhabi.

Footage showed Chimaev being restrained and dragged away from cage side by security officials.

Khamzat Chimaev just got into a cageside scuffle after the main event and had to be restrained by security. #UFC280 | Results: https://t.co/ASgbZtcX37 pic.twitter.com/YGQ8Du1ebi

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) October 22, 2022

Chimaev had already drawn negative attention to himself on Saturday after the UFC star posted a picture that showed him seated cage-side next to Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov’s son, Ali. The 14-year-old was among Kadyrov’s children who were sent to Mariupol, the occupied Ukrainian port city destroyed by Russian forces, to take part in propaganda photo-ops while dressed as soldiers. Footage showed the three teenagers firing grenade launchers and assault rifles from behind camouflaged bushes in an undisclosed location.

The teenagers later returned to Chechnya after supposedly capturing three Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), who were then paraded on Kadyrov’s social media channels.

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About the author

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.