It would appear that UFC lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov would like to shed some light on a rather dark situation.
As reported by Bloody Elbow, the UFC fighter’s friend Akim Kuliyev was one of five suspects for allegedly burning down a local government building within Dagestan in September. Well, Kuliyev appeared in a local hospital on Nov. 24 with a series of wounds that appeared to have been inflicted through torture.
Kuliyev was arrested on Nov. 4 and detained in Makhachkala for 20 days, where it is believed he was tortured by police in an attempt to extract a confession from the man. According to Nurmagomedov, Kuliyev tore open his own stomach rather than sign a testimony to the alleged crime.
“The person you see in the photo is my friend Akim Kuliyev, whom I know since my childhood, first of all, as a very brave man.” Khabib Nurmagomedov said on social media. “Those who had tortured and abused him got convinced of it, I’m sure… During another act of torture, he cut his stomach open, stating that he would not sign to what he hadn’t done.”
Check out his Instagram post below.
Nurmagomedov is currently scheduled to make his octagon return December 30th, at UFC 219, against Edson Barboza.