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Khamzat Chimaev om relationen till Ramzan Kadyrov (expressen.se)
Cliffs: Says he's fighting Kamaru Usman in Dubai, fight is 90% done but they are discussing at what weight. Compares his relationship with Kadyrov with that of any head of state and says that he would visit Joe Biden or the Swedish king if invited. Oddly enough he says that Kadyrov is the president of "his country", he is a citizen of Sweden since many years. Does not comment on Kadyrov and his links to Putin but says that he is an athlete (as opposed to a politician I guess).
Google translate:
MMA star Khamzat Chimaev sailed up as one of the UFC's biggest stars when he broke through three years ago.
Since then, he has fought ten fights - and not lost a single one.
"He's a freaking natural," UFC boss Dana White said after Chimaev picked up his sixth straight win in 2022.
The 29-year-old, who has three WC gold medals in wrestling on his track record, is now considered one of the world's top UFC fighters in the welterweight weight class.
However, Chimaev has not fought since September last year.
Therefore, the hype surrounding the star is perhaps greater than ever. The MMA world is talking about his comeback, which will take place in Abu Dhabi in October.
At the same time, the Swedish Chechen is surrounded by questions about his association with the Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov.
Trained the sons in MMA
Chimaev, who was born in Chechnya but came to Sweden at the age of 17, has published tributes to the leader in front of his 5.5 million followers on Instagram.
In several pictures, he poses with Kadyrov.
In addition, Chimaev has trained the leader's sons in MMA during the winter.
For example, Chimaev was seen together with his son Ali Kadyrov, 16, in Thailand in February.
Ramzan Kadyrov - or "Vladimir Putin's attack dog" as he has been called in the Western media - rules the Russian sub-republic of Chechnya with an iron grip. The Kadyrov regime is accused of torturing the opposition, persecuting homosexuals and threatening the media.
Khamzat Chimaev has been criticized for his collusion with Kadyrov. Regime critic Mansur Sadulaev recently called Chimaev "Kadyrov's tame dog" in an interview with Expressen.
- Of course, I understand people who are in Chechnya, that they cannot leave and must praise or support Kadyrov. But when a person has already left, and still goes back there and continues to spread their propaganda – there is no excuse for that, Sadulaev said.
Chimaev has never answered questions about the relationship with Kadyrov. Until now.
Chimaev on the relationship with Kadyrov
Expressen meets Chimaev during a gaming event in Stockholm. The MMA star says he is ready for his comeback.
- We train as usual here in Stockholm. We were in Dubai for training camp, but came back now. Then, a month before the match, we will go to Abu Dhabi. But otherwise we train as usual here in Stockholm. We are ready for the match, says Chimaev.
Nigerian-American star Kamaru Usman is one of the names that have been mentioned as a potential opponent in Chimaev's comeback. At the same time, Dana White has dismissed the speculation as "bullshit".
Chimaev believes that there are still some question marks about which weight class the fight will be decided in.
- It could be Usman, 90 percent. But he's talking about two kilos, he doesn't want to gain two kilos. Dana White talks about 82 kilos. We'll see. There was no other match. It's just him, says Chimaev.
We have previously written about your relationship with Ramzan Kadyrov. How would you describe that relationship?
Chimaev is about to be stopped from answering the questions by his team.
- Wait, wait, wait, says Chimaev and waves them away.
- He is the president of my country. There is the king in Sweden, isn't there? If the king tells me to come and dine with him, I will. I will respect the king. He (Kadyrov) is the president of my country and I respect him. When he calls me to dinner, I have dinner with him. If I go to the United States, and the president calls me there, I will go there and eat with him, says Chimaev while the MMA star's team points out that these questions should not be asked.
Kadyrov is also accused of violating human rights and has strong ties to Putin, how do you see that?
- What?
How do you see Kadyrov being accused of violating human rights and having strong ties to Putin?
- I am an athlete.
Here, Chimaev, together with his team, chooses to interrupt the interview.
Great collusion with Putin
Ramzan Kadyrov has long been loyal to the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin. When the Wagner Group planned a coup against Russia this weekend, Kadyrov was quick to announce his support for Putin.
During the war in Ukraine, the Chechen war support has been called the Tiktok Battalion.
- They have sent some troops to the war in Ukraine, but at the same time there has been almost more PR around them than what they have actually done in the war. They have been called the Tiktok battalion because they post a lot when they are out in the field, but my impression is that they have not accomplished much, Russia expert Oscar Jonsson told Expressen this spring.
Kadyrov has also long been a big MMA fan. The dictator runs his own training facility and has managed to attract big UFC stars to Chechnya. Among others, Kamaru Usman, Justin Gaethje and Henry Cejudo were on a well-documented visit to Kadyrov in November last year.
The UFC has previously stated via email to Expressen that the organization has no collusion with Kadyrov.
Cliffs: Says he's fighting Kamaru Usman in Dubai, fight is 90% done but they are discussing at what weight. Compares his relationship with Kadyrov with that of any head of state and says that he would visit Joe Biden or the Swedish king if invited. Oddly enough he says that Kadyrov is the president of "his country", he is a citizen of Sweden since many years. Does not comment on Kadyrov and his links to Putin but says that he is an athlete (as opposed to a politician I guess).
Google translate:
MMA star Khamzat Chimaev sailed up as one of the UFC's biggest stars when he broke through three years ago.
Since then, he has fought ten fights - and not lost a single one.
"He's a freaking natural," UFC boss Dana White said after Chimaev picked up his sixth straight win in 2022.
The 29-year-old, who has three WC gold medals in wrestling on his track record, is now considered one of the world's top UFC fighters in the welterweight weight class.
However, Chimaev has not fought since September last year.
Therefore, the hype surrounding the star is perhaps greater than ever. The MMA world is talking about his comeback, which will take place in Abu Dhabi in October.
At the same time, the Swedish Chechen is surrounded by questions about his association with the Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov.
Trained the sons in MMA
Chimaev, who was born in Chechnya but came to Sweden at the age of 17, has published tributes to the leader in front of his 5.5 million followers on Instagram.
In several pictures, he poses with Kadyrov.
In addition, Chimaev has trained the leader's sons in MMA during the winter.
For example, Chimaev was seen together with his son Ali Kadyrov, 16, in Thailand in February.
Ramzan Kadyrov - or "Vladimir Putin's attack dog" as he has been called in the Western media - rules the Russian sub-republic of Chechnya with an iron grip. The Kadyrov regime is accused of torturing the opposition, persecuting homosexuals and threatening the media.
Khamzat Chimaev has been criticized for his collusion with Kadyrov. Regime critic Mansur Sadulaev recently called Chimaev "Kadyrov's tame dog" in an interview with Expressen.
- Of course, I understand people who are in Chechnya, that they cannot leave and must praise or support Kadyrov. But when a person has already left, and still goes back there and continues to spread their propaganda – there is no excuse for that, Sadulaev said.
Chimaev has never answered questions about the relationship with Kadyrov. Until now.
Chimaev on the relationship with Kadyrov
Expressen meets Chimaev during a gaming event in Stockholm. The MMA star says he is ready for his comeback.
- We train as usual here in Stockholm. We were in Dubai for training camp, but came back now. Then, a month before the match, we will go to Abu Dhabi. But otherwise we train as usual here in Stockholm. We are ready for the match, says Chimaev.
Nigerian-American star Kamaru Usman is one of the names that have been mentioned as a potential opponent in Chimaev's comeback. At the same time, Dana White has dismissed the speculation as "bullshit".
Chimaev believes that there are still some question marks about which weight class the fight will be decided in.
- It could be Usman, 90 percent. But he's talking about two kilos, he doesn't want to gain two kilos. Dana White talks about 82 kilos. We'll see. There was no other match. It's just him, says Chimaev.
We have previously written about your relationship with Ramzan Kadyrov. How would you describe that relationship?
Chimaev is about to be stopped from answering the questions by his team.
- Wait, wait, wait, says Chimaev and waves them away.
- He is the president of my country. There is the king in Sweden, isn't there? If the king tells me to come and dine with him, I will. I will respect the king. He (Kadyrov) is the president of my country and I respect him. When he calls me to dinner, I have dinner with him. If I go to the United States, and the president calls me there, I will go there and eat with him, says Chimaev while the MMA star's team points out that these questions should not be asked.
Kadyrov is also accused of violating human rights and has strong ties to Putin, how do you see that?
- What?
How do you see Kadyrov being accused of violating human rights and having strong ties to Putin?
- I am an athlete.
Here, Chimaev, together with his team, chooses to interrupt the interview.
Great collusion with Putin
Ramzan Kadyrov has long been loyal to the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin. When the Wagner Group planned a coup against Russia this weekend, Kadyrov was quick to announce his support for Putin.
During the war in Ukraine, the Chechen war support has been called the Tiktok Battalion.
- They have sent some troops to the war in Ukraine, but at the same time there has been almost more PR around them than what they have actually done in the war. They have been called the Tiktok battalion because they post a lot when they are out in the field, but my impression is that they have not accomplished much, Russia expert Oscar Jonsson told Expressen this spring.
Kadyrov has also long been a big MMA fan. The dictator runs his own training facility and has managed to attract big UFC stars to Chechnya. Among others, Kamaru Usman, Justin Gaethje and Henry Cejudo were on a well-documented visit to Kadyrov in November last year.
The UFC has previously stated via email to Expressen that the organization has no collusion with Kadyrov.
