Dana White banned national flags in the octagon to avoid being a target when his Russian fighters bring their flags to the fight. But, he has not been able to stop them from sharing controversial statements on their social media.
We are speaking about the Dagestan, Chechnyan, or Russian-born fighters that roam the octagon for quite some time now. Khamzat Chimaev is not an exclusion. In fact, he shared a post on social media where he praises his ‘Motherland’ amidst the raging war in Ukraine. As you’d expect, this started a great controversy.
Khamzat Chimaev Posts Controversial Statement About The ‘Motherland’ Amidst Ukraine War
Khamzat Chimaev is born in the Chechen Republic of Russia, but he spent all of his adult life in Sweden. Despite being away from Russia for a long time, he seems to be unable to accept the fact that his ‘Motherland’ is currently involved in something that breaks basic human rights.
Khamzat Chimaev has a friendly relationship with the President of his homeland Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. Kadyrov is one of the leaders that expresses his strong support for Russia publicly. But more importantly for Khamzat, he is a person that is a key player in the Russian MMA sport and business.
“We are athletes, each of us is a patriot of our Motherland. Lately, everyone has interfered with sports with politics. We stand for the country where we live. I am proud of my Motherland and I know that my Motherland is proud of me and supports me.” – Khamzat Chimaev wrote on social media below a photo of himself training before his fight against Gilbert Burns.
Even though Russian athletes have been excluded from many major sports, such as football, this practice is not implemented in the UFC. There are still many Russian native fighters that roam the octagon and record great success.
Khamzat Chimaev continues the controversial posts by sharing another one, this time a photo of his fellow Russian UFC fighter Muhammad Mokaev with a controversial caption.
“All those who are worthy of your Motherland are proud of you my brother, only victory InshaAllah.” – Khamzat states.
Khamzat Chimaev is currently in third place in the rankings for the welterweight division. Despite expressing this support for his ‘Motherland’, Chimaev fights under the Swedish flag. Thanks to Sweden he has been able to launch such a successful MMA career.
Dana White seems to remain silent about these controversial statements. There has been no official statement from the UFC on whether they will present some restrictions or penalties for promoting Russia.
Chimaev won over Gilbert Burns at the UFC 273 event and marked his 11th win in the UFC. This opens his path to the title shot against Kamaru Usman. However, he has one more fight to go to earn it. At the UFC 279, he will face the ‘oldtimer’ Nate Diaz and hopefully secure his title shot.
