Dictator Kadyrov pushes Chimaev out of retirement despite COVID-19 complications

On Monday night, Khamzat Chimaev – one of the UFC’s rising stars – apparently announced his retirement from MMA due to health complications due to COVID-19.

Chimaev, 26, was reportedly hospitalized on several occasions after contracting COVID-19 last year. During one such period, the Chechen resident told his driver that he believed he was going to die. Later, he posted a photo on his Instagram story showing a blood syringe in a sink, underscoring the serious long-term complications plaguing many people recovering from the virus. Faced with a demoralizing situation, Chimaev took to social media to announce that he was “done” with the sport.

Despite the apparent seriousness of Chimaev’s condition, Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov quickly put an end to Chimaev’s retirement speech.

“Khamzat said his recovery from the illness was slow, and in an effort to be honest and candid with the supporters, he decided not to give them hope,” Kadyrov wrote on his VKontakte page on Tuesday and added that he also arranged. for Chimaev to return to Chechnya, where he will “complete a rehabilitation course” and hold a training camp. ‘

“I told him that ALL the Chechens were upset about this news,” Kadyrov added. “I reminded Chimaev that the youth he inspires base his hopes and expectations on his success … and if fans have to wait for his return, then we will all look forward with fear and patience to his return to the agtagon.”

Kadyrov has long embraced mixed martial arts as a soft power strategy, using the sport to whitewash horrific crimes and divert continued human rights violations such as harassment of dissidents, as well as the anti-gay purges imposed on Chechnya’s LGBTQ + community oriented. And although the United States has imposed sanctions on Kadyrov for his well-documented abuse, he remains an influential figure in the sport.

Kadyrov founded the Akhmat MMA Fighting Club – a training facility with more than 15 branches across the region – as well as an MMA promotion (World Fighting Championship of Akhmat, later a new name for Absolute Championship Akhmat) which has more than 60 events held in different countries. Several of the fighters representing his fight club competed for the UFC, including Maxim Grishin and Magomed Ankalaev, who both competed at recent shows. He has also featured countless athletes and celebrities, including Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, and a variety of current and former UFC champions such as Frank Mir, Chirs Weidman, Fabricio Werdum, Frankie Edgar, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Kamaru Usman.

By associating with some of the most popular figures in martial arts, Kadyrov portrays the image of a benevolent, sports-loving leader instead of a tyrannical despot who oppresses his citizens and treats Chechnya like his own personal lies. This tactic is known as sports laundering – a term coined by Amnesty International in 2018 to describe authoritarian regimes that use sport to whitewash their human rights records – and has been particularly useful in confirming its rule in Chechnya. Kadyrov’s relationship with Chimaev is no exception.

Chimaev visited Kadyrov’s Akhmat MMA facility in Grozny several times, including June 2019, where he participated in the ‘Extra Rounds’ martial arts chat program and hosted a training seminar for children. A stone of his appearance shows him practicing at the facility, with a photo of Kadyrov behind the wall. Chimaev also repeatedly referred to Kadyrov on social media, including an Instagram message dated January 6, 2021, showing the two Chechens embracing in Kadyrov’s palace.

Kadyrov’s decision to intervene and push Chimaev out of action underscores his value to the Chechen dictator. As one of the brightest prospects in the UFC, Chimaev has the potential to become the most successful Chechen athlete in a generation, and so Kadyrov took the opportunity to take advantage of the fighter in an effort to advance his own socio-political agenda.

“I know for sure that Khamzat will take the UFC belt and prove that he is the best of the best!” Kadyrov said in his UK post on Tuesday.