Former UFC champ trains with Ramzan Kadyrov’s son

Despite ongoing U.S. government scrutiny regarding the relationship between UFC fighters and Chechnya’s strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, another former UFC champion has has chosen to…

By: Karim Zidan | 12 months ago
Former UFC champ trains with Ramzan Kadyrov’s son
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Despite ongoing U.S. government scrutiny regarding the relationship between UFC fighters and Chechnya’s strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, another former UFC champion has has chosen to affiliate with the dictator’s family.

Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt was photographed training alongside fellow UFC fighter Khamzat Chimaev and Kadyrov’s son, Ali, in Dubai last week.

Ali posted the photo himself on Instagram stories. He later shared another photo standing next to Garbrandt, who captioned the post: “Another champion arrives at camp.”

Garbrandt is the latest UFC champion to be linked to the family of Ramzan Kadyrov, who has long been accused of orchestrating human rights abuses including assassinations, abductions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and purges targeting the local LGBTQ+ community.

Last month, former UFC champ welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, former UFC flyweight champ Henry Cejudo, and former interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje attended a birthday party for one of another one of Kadyrov’s teenage sons at the dictator’s behest. The trio were later pictured testing firearms at the Russian Special Forces University in Chechnya.

Chimaev, a Chechen-born Swedish resident, has also routinely been pictured alongside Kadyrov and his sons, and has been known to train with them during trips to Chechnya. Most recently, the UFC star took Kadyrov’s sons with him to Dubai to train alongside members of his Allstar team.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has prohibited people doing business in the United States from interacting with several businesses owned by Kadyrov, including his mixed martial arts gym, Akhmat MMA, since December 2020. The U.S. Department of State also informed The New York Times that it is aware of apparent ties between Kadyrov and UFC fighters.

Garbrandt is scheduled to face Julio Arce at UFC 285, the upcoming pay-per-view scheduled for March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Share this story

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.

More from the author

Bloody Elbow Podcast
Related Stories