The Many Crypto Schemes of Khabib Nurmagomedov

As UFC champion, Khabib built a brand on humility, faith, and denouncing vices like gambling. His reputation is now repeatedly deployed to legitimize volatile financial products and fans are noticing.

It took barely a day for an NFT drop, using the image of UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, to make roughly $4.35 million in revenue.

Over about 24 hours, messaging platform Telegram auctioned off 29,000 digital papakhas, the distinctive sheepskin hat that Khabib wore throughout his career. Controversy grew as the sale also involved Khabib saying it was in honour of his deceased father and coach, Abdulmanap, a devout Muslim who taught his son discipline and principles alongside martial arts.