UFC's Khabib Nurmagomedov Poses for Picture with Chechen Leader Ramzan Kadyrov

UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov was photographed alongside Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya. 

Nurmagomedov shared the photo on Instagram and wrote the caption in Russian.

"Thank you for the hospitality of [Ramzan Kadyrov]," he wrote (h/t TMZ). "May the Almighty protect you and the entire Chechen people."

Nurmagomedov has enjoyed a close relationship with Kadyrov. Kadyrov presented Khabib with a new Mercedes and recognized him as an honorary citizen of Chechnya last October.

HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel profiled Kadyrov and documented his ties to mixed martial arts as a whole during a July 2017 episode.

Nurmagomedov's meeting with Kadyrov comes weeks after the Guardian's Andrew Roth reported Chechen police detained almost 40 people "in a new crackdown on LGBT people." According to Roth, two people died in police custody as well.