UFC veteran who once beat Jiri Prochazka and has ties to controversial warlord found dead at 31

Former UFC contender who once defeated Jiri Prochazka was found dead under mysterious circumstances. He also had a strong connection to Chechenya dictator Ramzan Kadyrov.

Abdul-Kerim Edilov was a professional mixed martial artist from the Chechen Republic.

He once submitted former UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka in Moscow back in 2013.

After that, Edilov competed in various promotions and started an impressive winning streak. He won 11 matches in a row and showed great potential in the cage.

The 31-year-old eventually joined the UFC in 2017, having only one bout at UFC FN 115. He took on Bojan Mihajlovic and knocked him out in the second round. That one UFC bout was his last appearance in the octagon.

Recently, Chechen opposition movements 1ADAT and Niyso reported that Edilov was found dead. Both informed the news via their respective Telegram channels. 1ADAT sent a voice message in Chechen language regarding Edilov’s death. They said that Edilov passed away on December 29 at 10am local time.

Abdul-Kerim Edilov had a strong tie to infamous Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Edilov put aside his professional career to support Kadyrov’s family. He became a babysitter and an MMA coach for Kadyrov’s children. In December of last year, Edilov was promoted as the Chief of Staff for Kadyrov. Not just that, Edilov also became the Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya.

Edliov had a nice spot within Kadyrov’s inner circle. However, his bond with Kadyrov was seemingly weakened. Several reports from the past few months suggest that Edilov is no longer in a good standing with the dictator ruler. Last month, he filed a resignation and chose to move on from his role.

Kadyrov is a long-time patron of MMA in addition to being an autocratic dictator accused of ‘disappearing’ a number of people. He is pretty much famous among MMA fans as he often appears alongside MMA athletes, including UFC welterweight rising star Khamzat Chimaev as well as many non Russian born UFC stars.