Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who is in a medically-induced coma with heart problems complicated by COVID-19, suffered without treatment for 10 days in Dagestan before receiving the necessary medical assistance.
The UFC lightweight champion’s father was feeling ill in Dagestan but faced a long wait before receiving medical attention because of a lack of understanding about the deadly virus in his homeland, Russian MMA promotion Fight Nights Global boss Kamil Gadzhiev has claimed.
Promoter Gadzhiev has said he was in touch with Nurmagomedov before the revered trainer was admitted to the Moscow hospital where he is now on a life support machine, and believes he could have caught COVID-19 as a result of one of the mass events that continued in the country while the outbreak spread.
“We talked when he was ill in Dagestan,” Gadzhiev told Sport Express.
“Abdulmanap did not really receive assistance for ten days. Why didn’t they help? Maybe they didn’t understand that it was COVID. Maybe there were no necessary preparations.
“When we corresponded, the risks of the coronavirus were not yet known – even less so in Dagestan. They were not ready to withstand the coronavirus. Why did he get infected? Probably because of mass events, be it a wedding or a funeral.
“Abdulmanap is one of those people who are very much talked about today in the context of the Dagestan coronavirus as a whole. There are people who have not been given proper medical care. There are almost no people left in Dagestan who have not been affected by the coronavirus.
“This is not the fault of doctors. In general, I won’t specifically blame anyone. I’ll just say that people in our republic treated the virus quite negligently. What happened to Abdulmanap is a certain result of [this], unfortunately.”
The 57-year-old was first hospitalized in Dagestan in late April, receiving treatment in regional capital Makhachkala for symptoms reported as being similar to those associated with pneumonia.
When his condition worsened, he was privately flown to a military hospital in Moscow, where he was announced last week as being in a coma following a heart operation.
His middle son, who has a flawless record in 28 UFC contests, provided an update to fans on Instagram on Monday amid reports of his father’s deterioration.
Asking them to pray for him and observe health guidelines aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, the fighter admitted: “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. This virus has affected everyone.
“This virus doesn’t ask what your surname or name is, this virus doesn’t ask where you work, if you are rich or poor. Everyone has got ill. We can only overcome this together.”
