"Do not try to instigate" - When Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov had to step in to squash beef between Khamzat Chimaev and Khabib Nurmagomedov clan
Khamzat Chimaev found himself at the center of a huge controversy back at UFC 280 last year. 'Borz' was involved in a physical altercation cageside with the cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Abubakar Nurmagomedov.
The incident was captured by multiple cameras with Chimaev and Nurmagomedov both throwing punches at each other before being separated. However, just a few days after the altercation, their beef was settled with the help of Chenchen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.
Kadyrov is currently the Head of the Chechen Republic and a highly-ranked officer in the military, and he was promoted to colonel general in the Russian army by Vladimir Putin in 2022.
Ramzan Kadyrov took to Instagram and shared a post that was translated from Russian in which he revealed that the differences between the Khabib Nurmagomeov and Khamzat Chimaev clans were settled. He said:
"There is no quarrel between Khamzat Chimaev and Abubakar Nurmagomedov - I have made sure of it personally, and I pass this information on to the ill-wishers. Do not blow up this problem of a global scale and do not try to instigate and tease athletes and their fans. This happens, including among brothers. But it was the misunderstanding that was resolved. We were and will be brothers, Inshallah! So do not write nonsense, do not take sin to your soul, for every dirty word you will have to answer to the Almighty!"
Kamaru Usman wants Khamzat Chimaev to "stop flirting" with him online
Khamzat Chimaev has been out of action for a while now, and there has been a lot of speculation surrounding a potential fight between him and Kamaru Usman over the past few months. Speaking about the same during a media scrum at UFC 290, the former UFC welterweight champion claimed that 'Borz' is just using him for "clout'.
Further, Usman urged Chimaev to cut down the weight if he really wants to fight him. He said:
"Khamzat is you know, at the end of the day this guy, he keeps flirting with me online, you know? He's flirting back and forth with me online at this point, he's just using me for clout, you know? If you wanna fight cut the weight and let's fight, if not, stop using me for clout, stop flirting with me online."
Catch Usman's comments in the video below (2:25)