Ziyavudin Magomedov congratulates Khabib Nurmagomedov #MMA #UFC

Dagestani billionaire and jailed funder of Russian MMA, Ziyavudin Magomedov, has expressed congratulations to Avar fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov on winning over UFC superstar Conor McGregor.

This was revealed by Ivan Melnikov, a member of the Public Monitoring Commission (PMC) of Moscow, who visited Magomedov and his brother Magomed in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center where they are awaiting trial for embezzlement.

For some reason, the jailed billionaires were given the special privilege to watch the Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor fight inside the detention center.

The Magomedov brothers were arrested on March 31 on suspicion of embezzling 2.5 billion rubles ($37.5 million). Both businessmen insist on their innocence.

In April during UFC 223, Khabib raised eyebrows when he used a post-fight interview inside the octagon to beg Russian president Vladimir Putin to release his financial backer.

The following month, it was reported that Khabib submitted a special petition to have Magomedov released on bail; the request was declined by the court.

The UFC 229 fight between Nurmagomedov and McGregor was held on October 6 at the T-Mobile Arena. A clear-cut victory by Nurmagomedov was overshadowed by his post-fight attack on MacGregor training partner Dillon Danis and the in-cage attack on MacGregor himself by teammate Zubaira Tukhogov and childhood friend Asadulla Emiragaev. Nevada’s governor Brian Sandoval, who was in attendance, had to be evacuated by security.

Khabib’s prize money of $2 million has been withheld by the Nevada Athletic Commission for his actions.