Makhachkala native and TikTok star Hasbulla Magomedov has become one of 2021’s biggest viral sensations, earning a devoted online following and drawing attention from some of the fight game’s biggest names – but how famous is he?
One would imagine that it would take a certain level of celebrity to be fawned over by the likes of Dana White, Joe Rogan, Logan Paul, Shaquille O’Neal, as well as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.
The Rock? No. Maybe Arnold Schwarzenegger? Try again. Conor McGregor? Definitely not.
Instead, the man who unites those names in fandom is a social media giant, even if his actual frame is considerably smaller.
Hasbulla – or Hasbik – has captivated audiences since his online videos first began picking up steam online around a year ago, when he posted a series of clips making fun of McGregor, or aping a Khabib press conference.
Today, just a year later, he has gathered a social media following in the millions and can legitimately call Nurmagomedov – himself one of the fight game’s biggest superstars – a true friend.
But how exactly did the pint-size Hasbulla become such a revered figure within MMA?
At first, Hasbulla’s ascent into social media stardom was a slow but steady one. Then a supposed beef with the similarly-sized Abdu Rozik catapulted Hasbulla to infamy.
The clip, which was a mock press conference allegedly promoting a ‘fight’ between the two, saw Hasbulla and Rozik trade insults before squaring off and going forehead-to-forehead, with the video quickly descending into the absurd when the pair began throwing punches and kicks at each other (all of which wildly missed their targets).
Most who viewed the clip took it how it was intended: a bit of light-hearted humor. Russia’s Dwarf Athletic Association, however, didn’t look on it quite so kindly and moaned that the clip was “unethical”.
While some looked down their nose at the video, others were enthralled.
UFC fighter Darren Till declared online that he would “pay good money to watch this”, while Russian star Petr Yan also noted that he found the clip incredibly entertaining.
His fame didn’t stop there. Dana White has also jumped on the Hasbulla Express and recently revealed that a video the UFC president posted of him was the most successful clip he has uploaded to Instagram.
“You know I posted that video of him saying, ‘Dana, I’m coming to UFC Abu Dhabi,’ and then I said, ‘I’m on the plane, can’t wait to meet you in Abu Dhabi?’
“On Instagram, I have 6.7 million followers, right? 6.4 million people watched that video on Instagram. It’s the biggest thing that I’ve ever posted. It’s insane,” said White after inviting Hasbulla to be guest of honor at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi.
White flatly refused to deny that he would host the Hasbulla vs. Rozik fight inside the UFC octagon.
Hasbulla at Khabib’s Eagle FC this past week it. He said fighting Abdu Rozik would bring shame to him. Also calls Rozik a “bum”. With English subtitles. pic.twitter.com/CaT1tJnwHQ
“I love the kid. Is there more than a zero percent chance [that he fights in the UFC]? Yes,” White teased.
Like any famous figure in the fight game, Hasbulla hasn’t always managed to stay clear of controversy.
Earlier this month, rumors emerged that he has been blocked by Instagram for allegedly making death threats against a woman on the social media platform after an unnamed woman was said to have posted images of his sister.
“I will not leave this girl alive until she apologizes to the whole of Instagram, because she filmed a video of my sister and posted it for the entire Instagram,” Hasbulla allegedly wrote.
Scandals aside, Hasbulla’s great pal Khabib predicts nothing but success in his his future – even saying that he could go on to earn a great fortune as a result of his social media clout.
But the former UFC champ says that he isn’t keen to see him follow in his footsteps in the cage.
“Honestly, I don’t want to make this fight,” Khabib told Red Corner MMA of the potential showdown with Rozik.
“I don’t support this idea. I don’t think this is a good idea. They’re both big names, they can create some good things if they become friends. If I had a choice, I’m going to make them friends.
“Maybe do some good charity things [together], they can become ambassadors for charity funds… but I don’t want to see this fight. We have enough fighting around the world. Peace is better than war.
“He has to go to the US; all the big sports stars know him there, he’s very popular,” Khabib added.
“He has to move for a couple of years to the US and become, maybe, a billionaire. Minimum, he can become a millionaire.”
“The WWE, wrestling, also wants him to come to them somehow,” said the former UFC champion, according to Championat. “They want to pay him some big money to get him into the ring. He’s immensely popular abroad.”
Hasbulla has gone from social media to obscurity to superstardom in just a year. In 12 months’ time we might just be looking at global domination.
US president Joe Biden has used a trip to a tornado-ravaged area to wade into the controversy over Aaron Rodgers’ Covid status, advising the NFL player who attempted to avoid a vaccine row with the “woke mob”.
President Biden was paying a visit to the Midwest, where at least 100 people have been killed by winds of up to 100mph in five states this week, when he made his surprising remark about vaccines.
Surveying scenes where the freak conditions had torn off roofs, toppled trees, overturned vehicles and caused power outages in Mayfield, Kentucky, the head of state stopped to talk to two women.
When he was that one of the women was donning a Green Bay Packers cap and shirt – the team Rodgers plays for – Biden warned: “Tell that quarterback he’s gotta get the vaccine” while the cameras were rolling.
VIDEO: @POTUS wraps up a conversation with two women, pats the woman wearing @packers gear on the back and says, “Tell that quarterback he’s got to get his vaccine.”
“I just lost my entire life. My job, my car, my house, my town.” Joe Biden “Hey tell Aaron Rodgers he needs to get the vaccine” Fucking politics I tell ya
Video footage of the incident showed the two women laughed in response. And while Rodgers is yet to address this latest episode in the saga, he may well do if he appears again on the Pat McAfee Show, which has provided the stage for the controversy.
In early November, Rodgers appeared on the popular program to address accusations that he had lied about having the vaccine because he claimed he was “immunized” and went on to contract Covid.
“I realize I’m in the crosshairs of the woke mob right now, so before my final nail gets put in my cancel culture casket, I think I’d like to set the record straight on so many of the blatant lies that are out there about myself right now,” he told the show.
“I didn’t lie in the initial press conference. During that time there was a very… a ‘witch hunt’ that was going on across the league where everybody in the media was so concerned about who was vaccinated and who wasn’t, and what that meant and who was being selfish and who would talk about it.
“[It was about] what they meant when they said it was a ‘personal decision’, [and that] they shouldn’t have to disclose their own medical information… and at the time, my plan was to say that I had been immunized. It wasn’t some sort of ruse or lie – it was the truth,” he clarified.
Days later, White House press secretary Jen Psaki publicly criticized Rodgers for spreading “misinformation”.
“I’m not an anti-vaxx flat-earther,” the 38-year-old insisted, saying he had consulted popular UFC commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan over alternative treatments.
“I have an allergy to an ingredient that’s in the mRNA vaccines. I found a long-term immunization protocol to protect myself and I’m very proud of the research that went into that.”
As Rodgers faced widespread backlash and lost sponsors, those close to him told People that he was “very unhappy with the response”.
Rodgers returned to the program and apologized, acknowledging that he is “a role model to a lot of people”.
Aaron Rodgers beat Covid unvaccinated and Biden is pissed.
“I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading. To anybody who felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility,” he accepted.
Many of the Biden administration’s rules and regulations aimed at increasing vaccination in the US have been held up or quashed by courts recently.
Republican state attorneys general, businesses and religious groups have claimed that the administration has gone beyond its authority in a country where Covid is thought to have killed around 800,000 people.
Biden’s legislation moves have included an executive order in September requiring federal contracts to include clauses mandating contractors to make employees take jabs.
An order in the same month effectively required almost 97 percent of federal employees to get vaccinated by mid-November.
Rodgers missed a defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9 due to Covid but has since helped the Packers to a 10-3 record with four games of the regular season remaining.
On Sunday, he provided four touchdowns and 341 passing yards in an outstanding performance as part of 45-30 win over the Chicago Bears, and he is set to feature against the Baltimore Ravens on the road next time out.
Union bosses have warned that football is rife with grooming, assault and “horrific abuse” after disturbing accusations of repeated rape emerged against a long-serving coach and former Gabon national youth team boss.
Patrick Assoumou Eyi, who is said to be known locally as ‘Capello’, allegedly abused boys while leading Gabon’s under-17 team and serving in his current role as the country’s top-flight technical director.
He is accused of luring them to his home, which he dubbed the ‘Garden of Eden’. Some victims have reportedly claimed that boys were provided for other leading figures in Gabonese football to abuse.
The alleged victims say they have not contacted police because they lack faith in the justice system, according to the Guardian.
[#Gabon ] Patrick Assoumou Eyi, ex-sélectionneur de la sélection gabonaise des U17, est soupçonné d'avoir commis de nombreux abus sexuels à l'encontre de jeunes joueurs.
Alleged victims claim that Eyi – known as “Capello” – abused boys in his previous role as head coach of Gabon’s under-17 team and in his current role as technical director for La Ligue de l’Estuaire, the country’s highest league
But Fifa’s international players’ union, Fifpro, has received a complaint and said that its preliminary inquiries unearthed “consistent evidence from credible witnesses” who unanimously say young players have long been forced into sexual relationships as a “pre-condition for footballing opportunities”.
“If these allegations are indeed true, it is yet further evidence that football is being consistently exploited, across leagues and continents, as a forum for abusers to access, groom, extort and assault players,” the union added.
“More must be done to prevent this horrific abuse and we call on football’s governing bodies to act as a matter of urgency.”
Eyi stepped down from working with the under-17s squad in 2017 but the outlet said that he continues to work with young people at the La Ligue de l’Estuaire despite a former official in Gabon’s football federation, Fegafoot, reportedly claiming that he attempted to raise concerns of sexual abuse allegations at a 2019 board meeting which were brushed off.
The official is said to have been fired as a result, though Fegafoot denied that claim to the newspaper.
“He forced me to have sexual relations with him,” one player who represented the under-17s side from 2015 to 2017 was quoted as saying. “That was the condition to stay in the national team.
One former player who was coached by Eyi said that the coach would lure alleged victims to his home, which he called the “Garden of Eden”. Some victims have alleged that Eyi also provided boys for other figures in football to abuse.
“At the time, I left my village in order to help my family. I was living in the capital [Libreville] and becoming a professional footballer was the only way to get out of misery. So I did what I had to do to help them.”
“Capello raped so many boys,” the player was quoted as alleging. “He sometimes went to the countryside to find new ones.
“He took advantage of poverty and also gave some boys to other officials. In our national team, the majority had to give sex.
“That’s the reality of Gabonese football for decades but no-one can shut down the system. Predators are too numerous… we suffered hell.”
Two other alleged victims say Eyi abused them when they were under 18 while they attended an academy in a Libreville suburb between 2017 and 2019.
“Sometimes, he took some kids to his house, ‘Le Jardin d’Eden’,” one is said to have explained. “He was very nice to me but every time I saw him he told me I was beautiful.
“One day, he told me that some of the players gave masturbation… he left his office with a smile. It was like he was sending me a message.”
“I had some sexual experiences with Capello, I was obligated to,” the other player is quoted as saying.
“I quit football, you know. I tried my best for my family and now I live out of the country. I can’t go back.
A complaint over the allegations of sexual abuse has been registered with Fifa by the international players union, Fifpro. Fifpro said it was deeply concerned about the allegations
“Capello bought kids from remote provinces or villages with a poor background in the majority.
“He brainwashed them and made them believe they had to give sexual favours to him. One other coach told us one day: ‘If you want to play with the under-17 national team, you know what you have to do.’”
Eyi, who was a winger but went into coaching at a young age with a noted eye for spotting footballing talent, is said to have posted a series of messages on his WhatsApp statuses where he seemed to make reference to the allegations and wrote: “Those who use lies as a weapon don’t know the reverse on the spiritual side.”
Fegafoot’s media officer, Pablo Moussodji Ngoma, was quoted by the Guardian to have referenced the allegations on Facebook, criticizing them for a “weakness of evidence”.
“The testimonies of the actor victims, with their names, can dissuade the perpetrators of these abominable acts but we must also allow the judicial bodies and even the courts to punish them,” he reportedly wrote.
“The rest will be taken as one more communication operation for those who are committed to tarnishing Gabon’s image internationally.”
In a reported statement, Fegafoot said it had “never registered any complaints relating to any act of this nature”.
“To our knowledge, [Eyi] does not have a team and is not appointed to lead any national team,” it is said to have added.
“The players you have met should consider also contacting us in order to diligently investigate because we confirm that such facts must be denounced in court and to the competent judicial bodies.”
This scandal is just the latest to rock Gabonese football, which in November saw ex-Rennes star Stephane Nguema and four fellow ex-internationals arrested for protesting against continued cancelations of the domestic leagues.
As a consequence, Nguema has had to leave his role as the players’ union secretary-general, with members claiming they haven’t been paid in almost two years.
The US National Football League (NFL) had updated its Covid-19 protocols in response to the spread of the Omicron variant, imposing restrictions on both vaccinated and unvaccinated players.
The NFL announced its revised protocols in a statement on Thursday, revealing that masks would be mandatory “regardless of vaccination status,” that in-person meals would be banned, and that meetings would be held either remotely or outdoors, “effective immediately.”
“The changes we are making today aim to address the increase in cases and the advent of the Omicron variant,” the statement declared, adding that the NFL would “continue to strongly encourage booster shots as the most effective protection.”
“All of these changes are grounded in our data and science-backed approach, with safety our number-one goal for the entire NFL community,” the NFL concluded.
While both vaccinated and unvaccinated players were ordered to mask up, the league cut the vaccinated some slack, making it easier for them to return to play after quarantine.
Under the new protocols, vaccinated players have more testing options which will allow them to hit the field after quarantine quicker, while unvaccinated players will continue to be required to test daily, unlike vaccinated players who test weekly.
Still, the new protocols did not go down well on social media, with critics pointing out that rolling out restrictions for vaccinated and unvaccinated players might discourage skeptics to get the jab.
After bullying all players and coaches into getting “vaccinated” for covid the NFL today announced new covid policies that essentially acknowledge there is no difference between the vaccinated and unvaccinated players.
Genuine question, what incentive to NFL players have to get vaccinated? All this does it make it so people on the fence won't do it. https://t.co/gz3AUjmDnw
The NFL has been pushing its vaccine-skeptical players and staff into getting vaccinated and previously enforced harsh, separate protocols for the unvaccinated, which included daily testing, mandatory masks, and a ban on mingling with others.
Several stars have been punished for breaking the NFL’s Covid-19 rules and Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Antonio Brown was suspended this month for using a counterfeit vaccination card to ‘prove’ his status.
NFL Network’s Judy Battista reported on Wednesday that around 100 players recently tested positive for the virus over a three-day span.
