Justin Gaethje hits back at critics for visiting Ramzan Kadyrov after Chechnya warlord poses with Khamzat Chimaev

Following his huge win over Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 this past weekend, Khamzat Chimaev seems to be the name on the lips of every UFC fan right now.

‘Borz’ was able to outpoint former welterweight champ Usman, defeating him via majority decision after three rounds. Most impressively, he dominated ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ on the ground in the first round.

Following his win, though, Khamzat Chimaev has stoked some controversy by uploading a photo to his Instagram page that shows him posing with Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.

The controversial politician has been accused of war crimes in recent years, which stands as a counterpoint to the calls for peace and unity made by Chimaev following his win on Saturday.

However, Khamzat Chimaev has not been the only UFC star to cosy up to Ramzan Kadyrov in recent years.

Back in 2022, lightweight contender and ‘BMF’ champ Justin Gaethje visited Chechnya at the invitation of Kadyrov along with Usman and former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo. The trio attended a birthday party for one of the Chechen leader’s teenage sons.

Last night, ‘The Highlight’ revisited the subject on X (formerly Twitter) in response to a post made by journalist Luke Thomas criticizing Abu Dhabi.

After accusing the journalist of never missing a chance to “let us all know how much better you are than everyone else,” Gaethje then discussed how he doesn’t regret visiting Kadyrov in Chechnya.

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Khamzat Chimaev: Is ‘Borz’ a fan of Justin Gaethje?

Given that they now fight two weight classes apart, it should come as no surprise that there is no real rivalry between UFC stars Khamzat Chimaev and Justin Gaethje.

However, back in 2022, ‘Borz’ revealed that he’d been thrilled by Gaethje’s wild fight three-round fight with Michael Chandler at UFC 268, a bout that was considered one of the best of the year.

In an interview with Smesh Bros on YouTube that now appears to have been removed, Chimaev stated the following about the Gaethje vs. Chandler fight:

“Every time I fight, I hope that my opponent is gonna challenge me. I want a fight! People always say that my fights finish early. But I want to see myself in the later rounds, gassed out and covered in blood. Just like the Gaethje vs. Chandler fight...I wanted to get into a brawl after I saw those highlights!”

Khamzat Chimaev is widely expected to fight Sean Strickland for the UFC middleweight title in his next fight, while Justin Gaethje’s next bout has yet to be announced.