Justin Gaethje denies association with Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov despite picture and video proof

Justin Gaethje denies association with Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov [Images via: @ya_pomoshnik_kra_95 and @justin_gaethje on Instagram, @ZidanSports on Twitter]
Justin Gaethje (left) denies association with Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov (right) [Images via: @ya_pomoshnik_kra_95 and @justin_gaethje on Instagram, @ZidanSports on Twitter]

Justin Gaethje and Dave Portnoy recently engaged in a Twitter exchange after the founder of the sports and pop culture blog Barstool Sports questioned Gaethje's association with Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.

Gaethje initially accused Portnoy of favoritism towards Paddy Pimblett, the recipient of a seven-figure sponsorship deal with Barstool Sports. This was despite the general consensus that the Scouser lost his UFC 282 bout against Jared Gordon.

"This makes the barstool guys look really bad," Gaethje wrote. "Just bending over for the lad. Fight of the night? Barstool can give him 50k but that performance will never get you a bonus in the octagon."

Portnoy, in his defense, harked back to the time when Justin Gaethje, Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo were spotted in Chechnya with the leader of the Chechen republic, Ramzan Kadyrov.

Dave Portnoy replied:

"People are telling me @Justin_Gaethje was recently seen hanging out with a warlord accused of brutal crimes against humanity so its hypocritical for him to say we look bad for supporting Paddy when he supports a warlord. I'm gonna take high road + not mention it."

In response, Gaetje simply called the accusations an "outright lie."

"That’s an outright lie and slander. #davesab**ch"

Gaethje went on to add that he was in Chechnya for a kid's birthday party, suggesting that the allegations hurled at him lacked substantial evidence.


Justin Gaethje's manager wants him to face Conor McGregor next

Justin Gaethje's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, is lobbying for 'The Highlight' to be UFC superstar Conor McGregor's first fight upon his highly anticipated octagon return.

McGregor, who broke his leg in a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021, is currently out of USADA's drug testing pool. He would need to be in it for at least six months before competing again.

Speaking with The Schmo in a recent interview, Abdelaziz exhorted Gaethje to fight Conor McGregor next, before claiming that 'The Notorious' would avoid that challenge:

“I would like to see Justin Gaethje destroy Conor McGregor and put him in a wheelchair. It doesn’t matter, any weight. He can take all the steroids he wants. He can take all the juice, EPO, everything. I would like to see this fight, but we know he doesn’t like tough fights anymore. He wants easy fights. He’s probably not going to fight Justin Gaethje.”

Catch Abdelaziz's comments below:

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Edited by Allan Mathew