Photo: George Wood
Viral internet celebrity and Ultimate Fighting Championship signee Hasbulla Magomedov broke his silence after he and his entourage were arrested for violating traffic laws in his home republic of Dagestan, Russia, on Monday (March 8).
"We decided to hype a little bit. That won't happen again, people we apologize," Hasbulla wrote in a translated statement shared on his Instagram story via LADBible.com. “We had to answer for it a little bit. I wasn't driving either."
Hasbulla's official Twitter profile, @Hasbulla_NFT, also wrote, "Bailed out on house arrest," along with a photo of the 20-year-old.
Dagestani authorities issued a statement regarding Hasbulla's arrest on their Telegram channel.
"Unbridled wedding fun in Dagestan is known to many and far beyond the borders of the republic," authorities wrote via LADBible.com. "In the absence of other ways of entertainment, such a primitive option is still extremely popular - blocking roads for other road users, burning rubber, smashing cars against each other and many other features that, in fact, have nothing to do with the celebration.
"All participants of 'wedding emotions', as they themselves call it, were taken to the police, and in relation to them, employees of the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan drew up administrative protocols for all violations."
Hasbulla and his entourage were reportedly celebrating a friend's wedding at the time of the arrests, according to Red Corner MMA.
The account shared a clip of an incident in which Hasbulla, 20, is seen in the passenger seat of a white vehicle, which appears to hit the rear bumper of another car. The clip then shows multiple cars doing donuts in the street and speeding before the five men were seen in custody at a police station.
"Footage of Hasbulla and his entourage celebrating on the roads of Dagestan - an incident that led to their arrest," Red Corner MMA tweeted.
Hasbulla, who has dwarfism caused by a growth hormone deficiency and is reported to be 3 foot 4 inches tall, initially gained popularity online with a video showing him driving a motorized scooter while lecturing a young person about restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic before numerous other viral videos shared online. The Russian native's popularity has since continued to rise with collaborations with Barstool Sports' Caleb Presley for his Sundae Conversation interview series -- which served as Hasbulla's first interview -- and the UFC, which signed the 20-year-old to a five-year promotion contract in September 2022.
An Instagram account dedicated to Hasbulla has 8.5 million followers and an associated Twitter account has 1.5 million followers.
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