Hasbulla defends beating his cat after social media backlash

Social media sensation Hasbulla has finally opened up on his controversial cat video.

The 20-year-old from Dagestan was recently seen pulling his cat's ear and hitting it in a viral video. This led to widespread outrage among netizens, including large sections of the MMA community.

The teenage internet sensation has now issued a clarification, dismissing the narrative of having abused his cat Barsik. The Russian claimed that the ear-pulling was all in play, citing the need for pets to be disciplined at times.

While Hasbulla knows that his detractors are waiting for a single slip, 'Mini Khabib' knows that this isn't it. He said in a recent video:

"Those brothers who think that I was beating the cat, pulled the ear this n that. I pulled the ear gently and I know that people are waiting for the moment, if I write something wrong, to just attack me like this. Like, 'you do this, you do that'. She [Barsik] was misbehaving and I just pulled the ear and that's it. I love my cat more than you. If I didn't love the cat, I wouldn't have it at home. My most lovely animal is a cat. And when she disobeyed, I scolded her a little. And you are attacking me for nothing."

Did Hasbulla abuse his cat? Here's the backstory

Several fans and fighters like Dan Hooker and Sean Strickland widely slammed Hasbulla after his cat video went viral. While the 'abuse' aspect of the latest video remains debatable, the Russian influencer's love for his feline pet can't be questioned.

As seen in previous videos, 'Mini Khabib' and his cat Barsik definitely share a close bond.

A series of videos, posted by a fan account of the Dagestani teenager on Twitter, provide more perspective on the recent controversial cat video.

In the first video of the thread, Hasbulla can be seen allowing his cat to go outdoors. Things went smoothly until a neighboring cat put her paws all over Barsik.

'Mini Khabib' came back strapped with a toy gun and broke up the two cats before seemingly trying to get Barsik back indoors. The next clip shows the Russian teenager punishing his cat for misbehaving.

The 20-year-old is also seen fondling Barsik in the next video.