Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov quashes fight between Khamzat Chimaev, Abubakar Nurmagomedov

Chechen warlord and sanctioned leader, Ramzan Kadyrov has played his part in squashing a beef between close friend and personal guest, UFC welterweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev, and Abubakar Nurmagomedov – after footage emerged showing the duo engaging in a physical altercation at UFC 280 last night.

Chimaev, a close personal friend of Kadyrov, who has been sanctioned by the United States government, attended UFC 280 last night at the Eithad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE – seating alongside Kadyrov’s teenage son, Ali Kadyrov.

In the night’s main event, Russian sambo expert, Islam Makhachev scooped the undisputed lightweight championship – defeating Charles Oliveira in a one-sided second round arm-triangle submission win.

However, during Makhachev’s post-fight Octagon interview, Chimaev and Nurmagomedov – the cousin of former UFC lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, were corralled by UFC officials and security after they threw several punches at each other. 

Today, however, it appears the beef between Chimaev and Abubakar Nurmagomedov has been put on the backburner, with the former attended a dinner alongside Khabib and Makhachev.

“A small misunderstanding that took place personally between me and Khlamzat (sic) (Khamzat Chimaev),” Abubakar Nurmagomedov posted on Instagram. “After that, we met with him in the Brotherhood circle, where we were gathered by the elders. As I said in an interview before my fight, Khlamzat is my brother in Faith and I always wish him health and success. I ask you, brothers, not to invent any kind of gossip and I hope our meeting will be beneficial between our brotherly people.” (Transcribed by MMA Junkie)

Ramzan Kadyrov holds peace talks with Khamzat Chimaev and Abubakar Nurmagomedov

A protagonist in peace talks between Khamzat Chimaev and Nurmagomedov comes in the form of the above-mentioned Chechnya leader, Kadyrov, who posted a screenshot on Instagram of himself engaging in a video call with both Chimaev and Nurmagomedov – accompanied by a caption detailing how he managed to settle the pair’s issues. 

Chimaev most recently competed against Kevin Holland at UFC 279 back in September in Las Vegas, Nevada – securing a first round D’Arce choke win in an impromptu fight. The Chechen-born fighter was also involved in a pre-fight scuffle with Holland on Thursday during fight week, with the duo corralled by security – forcing a pre-fight press conference to be cancelled.