UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov shut down a conspiracy theorist who called the Covid-19 pandemic a ‘scam’, by revealing 11 people from his village have died from the disease and dozens more hospitalized, including his own father.
An emotional Khabib, whose ailing father Abdulmanap was on Tuesday fighting for his life in a Moscow hospital after suffering a stroke brought on by Covid-19 complications, shot down the troll with a sobering comment listing the death toll from coronavirus within the population of his village in his native Dagestan.
“More than 500 people in my village have contracted pneumonia, 11 have died, and dozens more people from my village are in hospital. In the neighbouring village 14 died in one night, they didn’t manage to bury them. Sorry I’m not as clever as you,” the 31-year-old wrote in response to a comment on Instagram.
Khabib’s father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, 57 and who is also the fighter’s trainer, slipped into a coma for a second time on Tuesday and is currently on life support at a military medical facility in the Russian capital.
The elder Nurmagomedov had previously undergone heart bypass surgery following a stroke after which he was first placed into a medically-induced coma, from which he awoke last week.
Despite not having regained the ability to talk or move, doctors noted an improvement in his condition, which was described as ‘serious but stable’.
Only a few days later however, it emerged Abdulmanap had become unable to breathe unaided and was again connected to life support apparatus. His son took to Instagram on Monday to confirm his father’s infection with coronavirus, diagnosed on his arrival in Moscow, speaking for the first time on the issue.
“He’s in the hospital now, he’s in a very serious condition. He had heart complications stemming from the virus. This virus has very seriously affected his heart, since he had a heart operation a year ago,” the 31-year-old said.
“He’s had surgery again. He’s in a difficult situation, very difficult. We ask Allah to return him to us. Thank you very much to everyone who writes, who sends their support. May Allah help us all.”
The 28-0 fighter also alluded to the impact the virus had had on his inner circle, stating as many as 20 of his relatives had been struck down with infection which had led to several deaths of loved ones.
“Personally, I’ve had more than 20 relatives – I don’t mean people I know, I mean close relatives – who have been in intensive care…Many people I know have died, the parents of people close to me,” Khabib said.
READ MORE: ‘Listen to the doctors’: Khabib Nurmagomedov issues nationwide request as coronavirus strikes his own inner circle (VIDEO)
Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov had initially fallen ill in his native Makhachkala in Russia’s Republic of Dagestan where he was treated for pneumonia-like symptoms, before being flown to Moscow at the behest of his family when his condition worsened.
Russia has so far recorded 309,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection, with a total 2,972 deaths from the disease.
