Ibrahimovic was there to support Khamzat Chimaev – the 29-year-old who was born in Chechnya, moved to Sweden at 18 and now competes for the United Arab Emirates.
For years, Chimaev has come under fire for his relationship with Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya’s hardline president who is a close ally of Vladimir Putin.
After the fight, Chimaev posted a picture on Instagram together with several people. Including Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ramzan Kadyrov’s sons Ali and Adam.
“I want to thank my whole team, we did it again,” writes Chimaev.
In an earlier interview with The Express has Chimaev talked about his relationship with Ramzan Kadyrov.
— He is the president of my country. There is the king in Sweden, isn’t there? If the king tells me to come and dine with him, I will. I will respect the king. He (Kadyrov) is the president of my country and I respect him. When he calls me to have dinner, I have dinner with him, said Chimaev.
Ramzan Kadyrov has been accused of serious human rights violations.