After Dana White's Contender Series 88 this past Tuesday, Dana White hinted at issues with Namo Fazil, telling reporters during the post-event news conference that "we had some sh*t go down this week" – but while specifying Fazil "definitely did not cause problems."
Now we know what the UFC boss likely was referring to.
In a video posted on Instagram, Fazil, who is from Kurdistan, said he was attacked by 15 Chechens, including Khamzat Chimaev teammate Baisangur Susurkaev, in his hotel room while he was cutting weight. According to Fazil, he was in a sauna and covered in blankets while his coaches were playing video games on Xbox when "there was a hard knock on the door."
"My coach opened the door, and 15 people came inside," Fazil said, according
to a translation (h/t Championship Rounds). "They were 15 Chechens who had come into the room. They had an intention behind coming there. I didn’t want to fight, but eventually I did react. But that wasn’t a fight I wanted. I told him I wasn’t going to throw the first punch. Then he came toward me and slapped me. I told him, ‘Be a man. If you want to fight, I’ll fight you.’ I told him I wasn’t afraid of him. Then he slapped me a second time.
"At that point I got up and started throwing punches, going after them. Then everything became chaotic. My coaches were pushing people away and trying to stop it. The police eventually came and saw what was happening. There were about 15 (attackers). If they all wanted to attack me, what could I do? And this happened while I was cutting weight, when physically you’re almost dead."
Fazil said the incident and aftermath affected his readiness for his DWCS 88 fight, which was an all-out war with Brito that Fazil lost in spectacular fashion by brutal knockout just 12 seconds into Round 3.
"I can tell you that I didn’t eat anything that day," Fazil said. "Around 3 or 5 o'clock in the morning, I woke up, and I still had to continue cutting weight. Then I went to the fight and in the fight, I definitely wasn’t as strong as I normally am.”
In a statement posted on Instagram, Chimaev expressed disappointment and called for peace between Chechens and Kurds, although he didn't mention Fazil by name.
"We all are brothers," Chimaev wrote. "Chechens and Kurds, we are Muslims and we should stay united. I’m not happy with the things that happened. I respect strong Kurdish people. When someone speaks bad then he should know there always will be consequences."
It's unclear why the group of Chechens chose to confront Fazil in the first place.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Namo Fazil says Khamzat Chimaev teammate, 14 others attacked him in hotel room
