Back to the MMA Newsfeed

Former UFC fighter and Kadyrov ally reportedly died under mysterious circumstances

Abdul-Kerim Edilov—the former UFC fighter who moonlighted as a babysitter and martial arts coach for Ramzan Kadyrov’s children—has died.

The news was first reported by Chechen opposition movements 1ADAT and Niyso, both of whom revealed the news on their respective Telegram channels.

According to 1ADAT, Edilov passed away on the morning of Dec. 29. The group later posted a brief voice message in Chechen, which revealed that a commemoration was set to take place at 10am local time.

Edilov, 30, was once seen as Kadyrov’s most promising fighter. He joined the Chechen warlord’s notorious Akhmat MMA fight club in 2015 and quickly became one of its primary representatives before signing with the UFC in August 2015.