In October 2017, notable Chechen light-heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev announced that he had signed a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The fighter posed for a picture alongside Abuzayed Vismuradov — commander of Chechnya’s Special Forces and president of the Akhmat MMA fight club founded by Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov — and declared his intent to represent his team on the world stage.
”I wish him to adequately represent the club” Akhmat “on the world stage of MMA,” Ankalaev told Chechen state media.
Ankalaev — who was awarded a brand new Mercedes as a gift for joining the UFC — was the fifth member of the Akhmat fight club to secure a spot in the global promotion, which highlighted the UFC’s willingness to do business with fighters linked to a Chechen dictator with a horrific record of human rights abuses.