sport news UFC' Justin Gaethje admits attending a birthday for Chechen strongman Ramzan ... trends now
Former interim lightweight UFC champion Justin Gaethje has publicly acknowledged a photograph of himself attending a birthday party for the teenage son of Ramzan Kadyrov, but has denied ever meeting the sanctioned Chechen Republic head and Vladimir Putin ally.
'Never met the guy,' Gaethje wrote in a tense Twitter exchange with Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy.
However, when presented with a weeks-old tweet showing him firing guns with Chechnyan solders 'at the invitation' of Kadyrov, Gaethje appeared to acknowledge the controversial trip: 'Went for the kids (sic) birthday party. I also like to shoot guns.'
Former interim lightweight UFC champion Justin Gaethje (left) has publicly acknowledged a photograph of himself attending a birthday party for the teenage son (right) of Ramzan Kadyrov, but has denied ever meeting the sanctioned Chechen Republic head
Kadyrov (right), the head of the Chechen Republic, is a longtime ally of Vladimir Putin (left)
The meeting is part of a growing number of troubling connections between the Kadyrov and UFC fighters – something that the mixed martial arts promotion has discouraged due to US sanctions in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The UFC claims no business relations with Kadyrov and insists it has followed US laws.
However, the New York Times reports that US government officials are aware of ties between UFC fighters and Kadyrov, the strongman who was first faced treasury sanctions in 2017 amid allegations of human rights violations, such as the kidnapping and murder of LGBTQ people in Chechnya.
In November, Gaethje and fellow former UFC champions Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo were pictured testing weaponry at the Russian Special Forces University in Chechnya, where many soldiers are trained before being deployed to the warfront in Ukraine.
Kadyrov also publicized video footage of the three firing grenade launchers and assault rifles. The 46-year-old often referred to as 'Putin's attack dog' has helped supply soldiers for Russian forces in Ukraine and has encouraged the Kremlin to use a supposedly low-yield nuclear weapon in the ongoing war.
All three fighters attended the birthday
