Why Are UFC Champions Hanging Out With An Accused Russian War Criminal?

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Zeph

TMMAC Addict
Jan 22, 2015
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32,126

By Patrick Wyman

Here is a delightful vignette: UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman doing his best impression of the lezginka, the national dance of the North Caucasus region of Russia, in the palace of Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic. You can see Kadyrov in the video—he’s the short, bearded gentleman in black clapping and smiling at the edge of the parquet floor. He also happens to be perhaps the second-most powerful person in Russia, behind Vladimir Putin himself.


On March 14, a trio of UFC champions—one current, one interim, and one former—attended a mixed martial arts event in Grozny as Kadyrov’s personal guests. Akhmat FC was a star-studded event, featuring Weidman, interim heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, and former titleholder Frank Mir. Also in attendance were champion kickboxer and accomplished ne’er-do-well Badr Hari and three-time Olympic gold medalist Buvaisar Saitiev, the greatest freestyle wrestler in history. These international stars added flavor and prestige to an event that could easily be construed as one of Kadyrov’s many vanity projects.

Kadyrov has been the head of Chechnya since 2007, and intimately involved at the highest levels of politics in the region since his father Akhmad Kadyrov’s assassination in 2004. Far from being merely a politician with money to burn, Kadyrov is a true combat sports enthusiast. He is also an accused war criminal who is allegedly personally responsible for hundreds of deaths and for torture on a mass scale.

You could wonder, actually, why this sort of thing doesn’t happen more often. After all, this event brought together two institutions, one sporting and one political. One is a kleptocratic dictatorship founded on blood and ethnic strife; the other is the Chechen Republic.

The MMA event, Akhmat FC, was named in honor of Akhmad, who had switched sides from the Chechen separatists to pro-Russia forces during the Second Chechen War and been rewarded by Vladimir Putin with a post as head of the new government in the small autonomous region. Ramzan took over from his father, initially as deputy prime minister, and after consolidating his rule was officially named head by Putin himself in 2007 following his predecessor’s ouster.

Judging by the passed-out and presumably hungover faces of Werdum and Weidman on the flight home, the Akhmat event was a good time. The fights were excellent—the local talent is world-class by any measure—and the Chechen favorites won, which as far as the crowd was concerned amounted to the same thing. Kadyrov himself sat in the place of honor, as he is wont to do, and was feted throughout the evening. Afterward, the head and his guests retired to the presidential palace for an evening of eating, dancing, and presumably drinking. Top welterweight prospect Khusein Khaliev, who fought on the card, badly showed up Weidman in his rendition of the lezginka.



Frank Mir, Ramzan Kadyrov, and Fabricio Werdum have a good time; photo via Instagram

The event was almost certainly funded by Kadyrov, either directly or through the sports ministry, and the PR-savvy head went out of his way to secure celebrity appearances to buttress its reputation. This isn’t the first time the Chechens have paid large sums of money to foreigners for MMA-related things. Cage Warriors, one of the largest promotions in Europe, put on a show in Grozny in 2013, and CEO Graham Boylan tweeted (and later deleted) a picture of the cold, hard stacks of banded cash with which they were paid.

For the Akhmat event, Chechen authorities reached out to then-UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who according to a source with knowledge of the situation was offered more than $100,000 to attend. Jones turned the invitation down, but his manager Malki Kawa, who also manages Frank Mir, didn’t. He attended along with his brother. They were given expedited visas and a police escort while driving through Chechnya, and were treated like kings. Badr Hari was even flown in on a private plane.
Continued at: Why Are UFC Champions Hanging Out With An Accused Russian War Criminal?

Patrick Wyman is one of the best MMA analysts in the MMA media currently. Not to mention he is working on, or has, his second PHD, the guy is very smart, in every sense of the word. This is a very interesting and enlightening article that I suggest you read in full.
 
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ChaosOverkill

Conor is ushering in the Chomochiq fashion era.
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
6,230
4,845
Yeah I don't get these trips and photo ops with these people, other than they are people Dana wants to be happy for their foray into Russia and maybe other areas.

Sending fighters to create a presence and shake hands kiss babies, or the reverse cause it's Russia n Neighbours.
 

Zeph

TMMAC Addict
Jan 22, 2015
24,355
32,126
Yeah I don't get these trips and photo ops with these people, other than they are people Dana wants to be happy for their foray into Russia and maybe other areas.

Sending fighters to create a presence and shake hands kiss babies, or the reverse cause it's Russia n Neighbours.
I don't think the UFC had any influence in the fighters attending this event. Sounds like Malki Kawa and other agents were approached with cash offers.
 

lookoutawhale

Mammal of the Sea
Jan 20, 2015
4,404
7,300
nutty. Reminds me of the time Matt Hughes said he took a photo in someones tshirt that he didnt know who it was. Just thought it was some fan made art and it turned into some white supremacy thing and he was like oh oh.
 

lookoutawhale

Mammal of the Sea
Jan 20, 2015
4,404
7,300
here was that matt hughes error in pictures in 2008. Someone wanted him to pose in a t-shirt that said White Boy. I dont think he even looked at it just probably took the picture quickly and then on to the next customer.

Matt Hughes Engulfed in Scandal from Racist T-Shirt Photo | Bleacher Report



On another occasion a fan asked Matt to take a picture of him giving the fan a rear naked choke. A few weeks later the fan tried to sue him. After that incident I think many fighters don't take the RNC pose in photos. The guy was an ex-cop too turned shady. or maybe he was shady all along and got fired heh.

Crooked cop tries to scam Matt Hughes - Cagewriter - Mixed Martial Arts Blog - Yahoo! Sports

guess they really have to be careful with these photos sometimes.
 

Robbie Hart

All Biden Voters Are Mindless Sheep
Feb 13, 2015
49,704
50,709
Most big names, whether ether mean it or not, hang with "bad" elements..........reference raging bull, mario balotelli off the top,of my head