The U.S. Treasury Department has issued a sanction on Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. The sanction has been placed following a series of sponsorships provided to former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum from Kadyrov.
Ramzan Kadyrov has driven up controversy for his prejudicial views of homosexuality that have led to “purges” within the Chechen Republic. All the same, Fabricio Werdum often sports sponsored fight gear from Akhmat MMA during non-official UFC pre fight events. Akhmat MMA is a fight team and promotion operated by Ramzan Kadyrov.
As reported by investigative journalist Mike Russell over Twitter, the United States government is currently monitoring how the Chechen leader is compensating individuals such as Fabricio Werdum for wearing his affiliated gear on UFC broadcasts and for UFC events. The government sanction enforcing the monitoring of Kadyrov’s influence on Werdum and others has been largely impacted by the leader’s “purges” from within the republic.
