“Grandson of Saladin” apparently got into two fights this week.
Kurdish Welterweight prospect Namo Fazil failed to secure an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) contract during Week 2 of Contender Series last night (Tues., Aug. 18, 2026), suffering a brutal knockout loss to Brazilian finisher Kaik Brito just 12 seconds into the third round inside Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada (watch highlights).
There was considerable hype surrounding Fazil entering the fight—not only because of his aggressive fighting
style, but also because of his nonstop trash talk.
Fazil had generated so much attention that UFC CEO Dana White knew who he was before Tuesday’s fight. White also revealed that “some s—t” had apparently occurred at the fighter hotel before the event, although he did not provide additional details.
Fazil has now shared his side of the story, claiming that a group of 15 Chechen men confronted him inside his hotel room while he was cutting weight.
“I want to talk to you about something,” Fazil said in an Instagram post. “As you know, I fought yesterday. I want to explain why I wasn’t able to put on a very good performance. If you noticed, I didn’t fight like the Namo Fazil you’re used to seeing. I wasn’t myself.
“I was in the middle of my weight cut,” Fazil continued. “I only had about three or four kilograms left to lose. For fights, I cut around 14 kilograms [30 pounds] in total, and I’d already lost more than 10 kilograms. Then, while I was in that condition, someone was going to come into my room and attack me.”
According to Fazil, the confrontation occurred approximately three minutes later.
“There was a knock at the door,” Fazil said. “I said to my coach, ‘Could you please open the door?’ They confronted me. My coaches stood up while I was still wrapped in blankets. There were 15 of them, and the 15 people who came were Chechen.
“One of them suddenly came at me and slapped me,” he continued. “Then he slapped me a second time.”
Fazil claimed his coaches restrained him because he was scheduled to fight the following day.
“My coaches were holding me back, saying, ‘Namo, you’re not going to fight,’” Fazil said. “They were stopping me because I had a fight. I told him, basically, ‘Be a man. Let me finish my fight first, then we can settle this.’
“He was saying, ‘Let’s fight now,’ and I said, ‘No, I have a fight. Wait,’” Fazil continued. “My coaches intervened, and once a scuffle broke out, they became scared and ran off. The police came. There was shouting and commotion in the hotel lobby.”
Fazil acknowledged that attempting to fight a group of 15 men would not have ended well, especially while he was severely depleted during his weight cut — sounds like he needed Sean Strickland.
“At the end of the day, this isn’t a Van Damme movie,” Fazil said. “There were 15 people. If they really wanted to, they could have done much worse to me. Clearly, they had some kind of objective.
“People want to know what happened,” he continued. “Maybe nobody actually knows the truth. As a man, it’s extremely difficult for people to come at you like that and for you to just stand there and say nothing. But I don’t belong only to myself anymore.
“I didn’t want to come out afterward making excuses, saying, ‘This happened, that happened,’” Fazil concluded. “But I believe this needs to be talked about so people understand why I wasn’t at my best.”
One of the guys who allegedly slapped Fazil was UFC Middleweight prospect and Khamzat Chimaev training partner Baisangur Susurkaev.
Following Fazil’s knockout loss, Susurkaev posted a picture of himself alongside a photograph of his hand with the caption, “Left hand 2-0 Namo cryer,” appearing to reference the alleged confrontation.
The bad blood reportedly began after Fazil repeatedly targeted UFC Welterweight prospect Islam Dulatov in interviews, challenging him to a fight in Abu Dhabi for his planned Octagon debut.
That is obviously not happening now.
Fazil (10-2) had his seven-fight winning streak snapped by Brito but hopes to return to action soon and work his way back toward another UFC opportunity.
For more Contender Series news and notes, be sure to hit up our comprehensive archive right here.
