Getty Image / Alex Goodlett
While most of us were busy spending the weekend celebrating Thanksgiving, three former UFC champions were seen hanging out with Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov. Now, Kamaru Usman, Justin Gaethje, and Henry Cejudo are receiving flack for it, and rightfully so.
According to Karim Zidan, Usman, Gaethje, and Cejudo were “firing grenade launchers and assault rifles at a special forces facility in Chechnya.” To make matters worse, the facility they were at is used to train the Russian soldiers who have been invading Ukraine.
Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov posted a video of former UFC champs Kamaru Usman, Justin Gaethje and Henry Cejudo firing grenade launchers and assault rifles at a special forces facility in Chechnya—a facility that trains Russian soldiers for the country’s invasion of Ukraine pic.twitter.com/BxioliBXp4
— Karim Zidan (@ZidanSports) November 27, 2022
The UFC might have some explaining to do for this one. I mean, most of us would likely enjoy the opportunity to fire off weapons like that in a safe environment. However, hanging out with a dictator isn’t really the best look.
UFC Fans Call Out Each Former Champion
As you can imagine, fans aren’t too happy with the former UFC champions. Why in the world would anyone willingly hang out with a dictator?
And there will be people who say: “Let’s separate politics from sports, don’t mix it.” Yeah. They flew there to create a good image of a terrible person, a grotesque dictator. Shame.
— Bartłomiej Maźniak (@BartMazniak) November 25, 2022
The fact they each share the same manager makes it even more questionable.
it is called being managed by Ali. meanwhile they are told not to do interviews with @arielhelwani
— DrKneevil (@Dr_Kneevil) November 25, 2022
For anyone not familiar with Ramzan Kadyrov.
https://twitter.com/itstimothydavis/status/1584276337513988096
This is such a bizarre situation. Having any affiliation with a dictator is never a good look. You’d think Dana White and the UFC would step in and make a change. However, based on the track record of the organization, that’s not likely to happen.