Khabib Nurmagomedov appears to have been assisted by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov in his efforts to mediate a feud between Khamzat Chimaev and his cousin Abubakar.
The legendary former lightweight champion was in attendance at UFC 280 this weekend to corner a host of fighters, including his cousin, as well as welterweight contender Belal Muhammad and Islam Makhachev, who won the Russian's former title. But the night was marred in controversy when Abubakar scrapped with Chimaev after his victory over Gadzhi Omargadzhiev.
There seems to have been a feud dating back to last year, which boiled over when a verbal argument turned physical between the two and a shove was thrown. Footage showed Chimaev and Abubakar having an amicable conversation before Chimaev shoved his fellow fighter, leading to a retaliation from Khabib and security dragging the two sides apart.
But within a matter of hours the issue has been resolved, likely with help from Kadyrov, who is the Head of the Chechen Republic, and believed by many human rights organisations to be a brutal dictator. The Chechen leader is known for leading alleged anti-gay purges in Chechnya, as well as imposing misogynist policies in the Republic.
The two Nurmagomedovs as well as Chimaev and Makhachev appeared in a video on Abubakar's Instagram page, in which Khabib declared that both sides are "tired of this nonsense". A photo then emerged on Instagram showing Kadyrov on FaceTime with Abubakar and Chimaev, indicating that he may have had an involvement in settling the dispute.
"What happened yesterday does not show us well," Khabib is believed to have said in the video. "Neither me, nor Khamzat, nor Abubakar. To tell the truth, we are tired of this nonsense. Here we are gathered as brothers where we have talked to each other and apologised to each other and hugged.
"I hope that in future that we will only gather and fight for good reasons, that was today. Islam won the belt first and the next one is very close, it's going to be Khamzat. And Khamzat let us all get together, so when Khamzat wins the belt, it's not for the showing off, not for this conversation that we are going to celebrate, we will celebrate for our new champion. May God help you and us, I hope that this sad moment that we have had right here that it will never happen to anyone else again."
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A message from an Instagram account believed to be Kadyrov's indicated the pair were friends again, with a number of notable celebrities from Russia such as Hasbulla Magomedov and Ashab Tamaev supporting his involvement. He captioned the photo of the duo on FaceTime with a note about how nerves are heightened around fighting events.
"Nerves are tense to the limit, not only in the octagon, but also outside," the post reads. "Each of the spectators is worried about the athlete, and the fighters do experience the same emotions as in the ring. Therefore, it is not surprising that misunderstandings arise at the limit of emotions.
"There is no quarrel between Khamzat Chimaev and Abubakr Nurmagomedov - I was convinced personally, and I pass this information on to ill-wishers. Do not make a global problem out of this and do not try to goad and tease the athletes and their fans.
"This happens even between brothers. But here there was a misunderstanding, which was resolved. We were and will be brothers. So do not write nonsense, do not take sin into your soul, you will have to answer to the Almighty for every bad word!"
