The son of Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov is set to make his professional MMA debut this Friday and will reportedly have UFC star Khamzat Chimaev in his corner.
UFC superstar Khamzat Chimaev maintains a very close relationship with Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov. Moreover, ‘Borz’ also mentors Kadyrov’s sons in mixed martial arts.
Ramzan Kadyrov’s son Ali Kadyrov clinched his maiden pro-MMA win at the recently concluded Absolute Championship Akhmat – 150 on December 23.
Mixed martial arts has long been associated to the controversial rule of Kadyrov, which has seen him accused of human rights abuses that range from torture and assassinations to an alleged attempted purge of the region’s LBTQI+ community.
Kadyrov’s interest in MMA has been widely branded as an attempt at sportswashing, a practice designed to utilize sport to cover up a growing reputation of wrongdoing. For the Chechen leader, that’s included his ownership of the Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA) promotion and his gym, Akhmat MMA.
Now, his son Ali is set to compete under the ACA banner and as a mixed martial artist for the fist time. Per Tapology, the 16-year-old will feature on the undercard at Friday’s ACA 150: Omarov vs. Suleymanov event in Moscow, Russia.
In preparation for the bout, which is set to come against a fellow newcomer to the sport in Islam Akbarov, Ali Kadyrov has been training alongside members of Sweden’s Allstar team in Abu Dhabi.
That includes Khamzat Chimaev, who recently uploaded a promotional video of Ali on Instagram ahead of his upcoming debut in Russia’s capital. It’s also been said that “Borz” will be present in the Dagestani’s corner come fight night.
ACA, the banner of which Ali is set to compete under, was slapped with a number of sanctions by the U.S. Department of Treasury in 2020. The promotion, along with its namesake gym, was penalized owing to Kadyrov’s ownership.
With that, American citizens and businesses are prohibited from doing business with the organization, as well as a number of other Kadyrov-owned entities.
Despite that, the host of alleged human rights abuses, and active support of the Russian war effort in Ukraine, many UFC fighters continue to associate themselves with the regime.
Ali Kadyrov’s UFC Association
The association between the Kadyrov name, in particular Ali, and athletes competing on MMA’s biggest stage has come under scrutiny in recent times.
Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov’s latest post on Instagram is of his son, Ali, pictured alongside Khamzat Chimaev and UFC president Dana White at Saturday’s show in Abu Dhabi.
The UFC continues to be a platform for the dictator’s propaganda. pic.twitter.com/vLKbu11PqR
— Karim Zidan (@ZidanSports) October 23, 2022
While the link with Chechen-born Swede Chimaev has long been known, 2022 has seen a number of notable figures connect with the dictator’s son. Just last month, Kamaru Usman, Henry Cejudo, and Justin Gaethje attended a birthday party for Ali.
During their controversial trip to Chechnya, the trio also tested firearms at a military facility designed to train special forces for enlistment to the Russian army.
The UFC itself has also been criticized for its attitude towards Kadyrov. In October, Ali attended the UFC 280 pay-per-view alongside Chimaev in Abu Dhabi, where he snapped pics with former two-division champion Daniel Cormier and UFC President Dana White.
