By:  | October 11, 2022 8:54 am

Hasbulla is headed to Abu Dhabi for UFC 280. The diminutive social media star will be travelling with Islam Makhachev who challenges Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight belt and might even be in his corner according to reports.

While Hasbulla might be lacking in actual MMA experience Makhachev should be getting plenty of good advice between rounds. That is because former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will also be cornering him at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Hasbulla’s close relationship with Nurmagomedov has been well documented and the two men travelled to Mecca together earlier this year. He will be back in the Middle East this week to support Makhachev.

Social media star

Hasbulla was pictured with Dana White at UFC 267. The UFC president reportedly handed him a five year contract with the dwarf set to earn more than many of the fighters on the roster.

With his 3.4 million Instagram followers Hasbulla is certainly more popular than most UFC fighters. It appears the promotion will be paying him to attend its events although details are extremely hazy.

For several years he was supposedly in talks to fight fellow dwarf Abdu Rozik but Hasbulla has discovered that the doesn’t need to actually fight in order to earn money from the fighting industry.

Moving the needle

Dana White is always looking for fighters who can move the needle and he told Barstool Sports that Hasbulla can definitely do that,

“So I’m going to tell you something. So the video that he sent saying ‘Dana White I’m coming to Abu Dhabi and UFC’, so when I posted that with me on the plane saying ‘I’m coming, it’s the biggest post that I’ve ever posted. I have 6.7 million followers on Instagram, 6.4 million people watched that video. Is that f*cking crazy?!”

 

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Famous friends

Hasbulla has become famous in MMA circles due to his friendship with Nurmagomedov and other fighters. He also appears to have won over Dana White and is clearly a popular figure on the scene.

The UFC president is probably aware that Hasbulla has a bigger presence on social media than most of his fighters. It seems that the 19 year old, who repeatedly suffers from a rare growth disorder, will be a regular presence at octagon side.

Hasbulla will be hoping that Makhachev can follow in the footsteps of his coach and mentor Nurmagomedov by winning a UFC lightweight title fight in Abu Dhabi.