BREAKING: UFC fighter Khusein Askhabov arrested in Thailand on counts of kidnapping, torture and extortion

Shocking news has been doing the rounds on social media, according to reports. The UFC featherweight fighter Khusein Askhabov has been arrested in Phuket, Thailand.

'Nohcho', along with his brother Khasan Askhabov, has been arrested in connection with kidnapping, torturing, and extorting money from an Italian citizen.

Phuket News reported that on September 3, three Kazakh men barged into an Italian tourist's villa. The individuals then allegedly kidnapped, robbed and tortured the tourist for hours.

The perpetrators proceeded to flee the country by taking a flight from Phuket to Dubai and are currently believed to be residing in Kazakhstan.

Although the Askhabov brothers' role in the crime is unclear at the moment, as they were not actually present at the crime scene, they appear to be under suspicion of organizing the entire plan of attacking the Italian tourist and robbing him.

The Italian man had stated that he first came across the Askhabov brothers a year ago at a beach cafe in Cherng Talay.

Khusein Askhabov started his professional MMA journey way back in March 2012 and went on a long and dominant winning streak. 'Nohcho' entered the UFC after building an impressive 23-0 record in his professional MMA career. 'Lion' managed to finish 16 out of those 23 fights - 6 knockouts and 10 submissions.

The 28-year-old made his UFC debut in February 2023 and went up against Jamall Emmers in a featherweight clash. The night did not go well for Askhabov as he ended up losing the contest via unanimous decision. All three judges scored the contest 30-27 in favor of Emmers.

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What does it mean for the Khusein Askhabov's upcoming UFC fight?

After coming up short in his first UFC fight in February this year, Khusein Askhabov was matched up against Daniel Pineda for UFC Fight Night 229. The event is expected to take place on October 7 at the UFC Apex Facility in Enterprise, Nevada.

A lightweight clash between Grant Dawson and Bobby Green is expected to headline the card. Prominent fighters like Drew Dober, Ion Cutelaba, Alex Morono, Joaquin Buckley, Chris Gutierrez, Alexander Hernandez and Karolina Kowalkiewicz are also expected to compete on the fight night card.

But after the recent news, the fight between Askhabov and Pineda might be in jeopardy. Considering the severity of the accusations against him and his brother, it might not come as a surprise if the 28-year-old is pulled from the card due to the accusations against him.