Chechen dissidents continue to take aim at UFC welterweight Khamzat Chimaev for his longstanding association with Ramzan Kadyrov.
1Adat, an anonymous Telegram channel operated by Chechen activists and exiled dissenters, posted a video of Chimaev at Friday’s ceremonial weigh-in along with a caption directed at the fighter himself.
“Hey mankurt (mindless slave), don’t let the word ‘Chechnya’ come out of your mouth,” read the caption. “Know your place, Kadyrov’s puppy.”
Kadyrov has ruled the semi-autonomous republic of Chechnya like his personal fiefdom since his rise to power in 2007, and is routinely accused of orchestrating human rights abuses including assassinations, abductions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and purges targeting the local LGBTQ+ community.