Fazil Says Chechens Attacked Him Before DWCS Loss

Kurdish welterweight Namo Fazil says he was attacked by a group of 15 Chechen fighters the day before his UFC Contender Series loss last week.

Fazil suffered a knockout defeat to Kaik Brito 12 seconds into the third round at Week 2 of the Contender Series on August 18 in Las Vegas. UFC CEO Dana White mentioned before the event that some incident had occurred at the fighter hotel but did not elaborate, according to MMA Mania.

🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to UFC Contender Series on Ticketmaster →

Fazil Details Hotel Room Confrontation During Weight Cut

In an Instagram post after the loss, Fazil said the confrontation happened while he was in his hotel room cutting weight with several kilograms still to lose. "There was a knock at the door," he said, per MMA Mania. "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. Then he slapped me a second time."

Fazil said his coaches restrained him because he had a fight scheduled the next day. He claimed he told the attacker to wait until after his bout to settle the dispute, but the group became scared once a scuffle broke out and left when police arrived. One of the men who allegedly slapped Fazil was UFC middleweight prospect Baisangur Susurkaev, a training partner of Khamzat Chimaev. After Fazil's knockout loss, Susurkaev posted a photo of his hand with the caption "Left hand 2-0 Namo cryer," appearing to reference the hotel incident.

🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to UFC Contender Series on Ticketmaster →

The bad blood reportedly stems from Fazil repeatedly calling out Islam Dulatov in interviews and challenging him to fight in Abu Dhabi. Fazil, whose seven-fight winning streak ended with the Brito loss, acknowledged the confrontation affected his performance but said he did not want to make excuses. He now holds a 10-2 record and is expected to seek another path back to a UFC contract.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — Contender Series loser attacked ‘by 15 Chechens’ a day before showtime – ‘They slapped me’