A spokesman for Kadyrov commented on the involvement of children in fighting in Grozny – RBC

Press Secretary of the head of the Chechen Republic Alvi Karimov has commented on the tournament fights on the mixed single combats in which took part children of the head region.

“They are, as befits a real Chechen, from early childhood, play sports, have mastered the skills of karate, judo, Boxing. They are the winners of children’s tournament, which was held in Grozny and other cities of Russia,” Karimov wrote on his page in Instagram.

He said that, according to children, they are “able to train and adult fighters, especially if their roof is not all right.”

mixed martial arts Tournament Grand Prix Akhmat 2016 was held in Grozny on 4 October. It including was attended by Kadyrov’s sons-Sean, nine-year-old Zelimkhan and eight-year-old Adam.

Their involvement has drawn criticism from the President of the Union of the mixed single combats (MMA) of Russia Fedor Emelyanenko and the head of the International Association of the mixed single combats (WMMAA) Vadim Finkelstein.

Fedor said that “fights involving children were reported as significant, but in fact the audience saw real fights.” The children’s Ombudsman Anna Kuznetsova also explained that, even if the match was declared as significant, “strikes children attacked each other real, they did not have the necessary means of protection”.

the Organizer of the match, Abuzaid Vismuradov later criticized the statement Emelianenko. “Who is he to assess our tournament and fight?” — it asked a question. Vismuradov also stressed that the confrontation wore a revealing nature.

the President of Federation of MMA of the Krasnodar territory Hagop Topchyan, who was the referee of the tournament, in an interview with TASS felt the draw of the knockout of one of the participants.

“For you it was a knockout, for me it was a prank. The child was taken, the doctors came, but it is not provided. It was not falling from the blow as it might seem from the outside”, he said.

Topchyan said that in one case there was an illegal hit to the head, but the judges reacted to him. “In the third match, the children played too much and gone too far I stopped them and warned,” he said.

Press Secretary of the President Dmitry Peskov said that the Supervisory authority should be interested in holding the fight. The Ministry of sport and Kuznetsova promised to investigate the matter.