Ramzan Kadyrov, president of the Russian republic of Chechnya, known as Vladimir Putin's attack dog, has been accused of serious human rights violations such as the murder and torture of opponents and the persecution of homosexuals.
Khamzat Chimaev has been seen in both pictures and clips of him hanging out and posing with the president, and has himself shared several posts with him on his social media – and has even trained his children.
"He's President"
He himself has not wanted to talk about this with journalists, but has now made an exception in Expressen.
"He is the president of my country. There's a king in Sweden, right? If the king tells me to come and eat with him, I will. I will respect the king. He (Kadyrov) is the president of my country and I respect him," he said.
"When he calls me to dinner, I have dinner with him. If I go to the United States, and the president calls me there, I will go there and eat with him.
"I'm an athlete"
When asked how he sees Kadyrov's links to Putin, and that Kadyrov has been accused of violating human rights, he is all the more brief.
"I'm an athlete," he replies, and then interrupts the interview.