Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is in hot water after airing Mixed Martial Arts bouts featuring children aged eight, nine, and 10 on Russian TV.
The broadcast featured three of Kadyrov’s sons and the fights were staged just like professional MMA fights.
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MMA legend Fedor Emilianenko denounced the fights and called them unacceptable
“What happened at the tournament in Grozny is unacceptable and, moreover, cannot be justified,” said Emelianenko, who heads the Russian MMA Union. “There were little ones, eight years old, punching each other in front of happy adults. Is it really so important for you to organize a spectacle at the cost of children’s health?!”
It was “incomprehensible to me” that state TV showed children’s fights, he added.
Considering Kadyrov has been repeatedly accused of human rights violations during his rule of Chechnya, it’s highly unlikely he will listen to Emilianenko.