UFC star Khabib’s gym raided, bank accounts seized

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On Friday, June 28, Russian security forces stormed a mixed martial arts (MMA) gym owned by UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Footage published in Russian media shows armed police surrounding the gym, named after Nurmsgomedov’s late father and beloved coach Abdulmanap.

The raid took place a few days later Sports Politica reported that one of the gunmen involved in a recent terrorist attack on Christian and Jewish places of worship in Dagestan had previously trained at Nurmagomedov’s gym. At least 21 people, including 16 police officers and a priest, were killed in the attack.

According to reports, after two days of questioning those present, police officers identified several fighters with ties to the extremist.

“A check of the documentation is being carried out,” a police source said. Interfax. “It is connected to the terrorist attacks that took place in Makhachkala and Derbent. One of the liquidated fighters had previously trained in this club.”

The aforementioned shooter, whose name is Gadzhimurad Kagirov, was a master of sports (an honorary title for successful athletes in Russia) in freestyle wrestling who later made the transition to professional MMA. The 28-year-old compiled a 2-0 professional record while representing Khabib’s Eagle MMA fight club, a training facility founded by jailed Dagestani oligarch Ziyavudin Magomedov. The club was later renamed in Abdulmanap’s honor following his death from complications of the coronavirus.

Shortly after the attack, Nurmagomedov denied any ties to the extremist, claiming he had never been a full-time student at the gym.

“It’s wrong to call him a student of Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov’s school,” Nurmagomedov told reporters. “This is not true. In 2021, he came to the gym with his older brother, sparred for a month or so. That was it. He was never seen in the gym again.”

Sports Politika can confirm that other MMA gyms in Dagestan have faced similar raids in the wake of the recent terrorist attack. Meanwhile, politicians and leading figures, including members of the Russian Presidential Council for Human Rights, accused Dagestani MMA fighters and their ‘spiritual leaders’ spread extremist ideologies.

It’s also worth noting that this isn’t the first time Nurmagomedov’s name has been linked to extremists. After his 2018 win over Conor McGregor, Khabib was pictured in Dubai alongside Sagid Murtazaliev, an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling who accused of financing terrorism and is a suspect in several murders. He has fled Russia and is currently wanted by the government.

Nurmagomedov’s problems with the Russian government don’t stop there, however. The former champion is caught in a web of legal troubles, including tax evasion, making it unlikely he’ll return to Russia anytime soon.