The social media star who stands at 3ft 3in tall, but has a HUGE online following with 7m followers… friends with Khabib, but enemies with McGregor… who is Hasbulla? Why is he signed to the UFC? And could he be coming to London this weekend?

• Internet sensation Hasbulla has become a key feature in UFC fight events 
• The social media star has a close relationship with a number of the UFC fighters
• He’s also signed a deal with the UFC and could be at Saturday’s event in London 

To the frustration of many traditional fans, combat sports have had to become familiar with a number of social media influencers in recent years.

The likes of YouTubers-turned-boxers KSI and Jake Paul have reinvented how influencers are perceived within the industry and it’s led to the some interesting characters emerging.

One of them being Russian internet star, Hasbulla. The 3 foot 3 inch personality became a viral sensation in 2020 after posting videos of his escapades in Dagestan.

And, in the space of three years, he’s gone from uploading clips from his hometown to hanging out with legendary fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov and signing with the UFC.

So, here, Sportsmail takes a look at who Hasbulla really is, what makes him such an appealing figure to the UFC and how much the Russian social media star is worth. 

Internet star Hasbulla could be in attendance for this weekend’s UFC 286 event in London 

The social media star has formed a close relationship with fighters such as Khabib Nurmagomedov

WHO IS HASBULLA?

If you do know who he is, you probably know him as Hasbulla. However, his full-name is Hasbulla Magomedov.

The internet star sparked his viral online career in 2020, after sharing videos from his escapades in the Russian Republic of Dagestan, where he still lives.

His early videos typically showed the Russian performing extreme activities, such as driving around in his friend’s lap or engaging in fights with those larger than himself. 

Since then, he’s amassed over 7 million followers on his Instagram account and has become one of the most iconic internet sensations in the world.

His exact date of birth remains unknown but, as per details in his Instagram bio, the Russian personality is 20-years-old, despite looking far younger.

The Dagestani influencer has appeared inside the octagon on multiple occasions after fights

WHAT IS HASBULLA’S MEDICAL CONDITION 

Hasbulla suffers from Growth Hormone deficiency, or ‘Dwarfism’, which is a genetic disorder that occurs when their is insufficient amounts of growth hormone in the body.

According to the NHS website, growth hormone deficiency is not inherited and can be present at birth or develop later in childhood alongside other conditions.

Due to all of this, the 20-year-old internet star stands at 3 feet 3 inches tall, which is just short of the average height for an adult with dwarfism, which is 4ft.

However, despite his physical impairments, the Russian has not let his disability restrict his progress in life and has instead capitalised on his disadvantages.

The 20-year-old has suffered from a Growth Hormone deficiency throughout his life

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UFC

In October last year, Hasbulla announced that he had signed an official deal ‘to fight’ with the UFC.

There had been rumours that company president Dana White has wished to orchestrate a bout between Hasbulla and another internet personality who suffers from the same disability, Abdu Rozik, but that never came to fruition.

Instead, it seems that the Dagestani star signed a promotional deal with the organisation and has appeared at numerous UFC events in recent months.

He was spotted in attendance during the recent UFC Fight Night event where Merab Dvalishvili beat Petr Yan via unanimous decision. 

And there have been murmurs that the internet star will be in attendance at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday night for UFC 286, yet nothing has been confirmed.

The Dagestani influencer signed a ‘fight’ contract with the UFC in October last year

RELATIONSHIP WITH UFC FIGHTERS

After rising in popularity on TikTok, Hasbulla made a breakthrough into the MMA world following a video he posted of himself reenacting Khabib’s Nurmagomedov’s UFC 229 weigh-in. 

Shortly after that, the internet star formed a close relationship with the former UFC lightweight champion and the duo appeared in various social media posts together.

He’s also established a close connection with current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and was seen inside the octagon after the Russian’s title win over Charles Oliviera at UFC 280 in October.

Earlier this week, footage emerged of Hasbulla getting into a light-hearted grappling match with one the sport’s most renowned managers, Ali Abdelaziz.

In the video, Hasbulla can be seen attempting to perform a submission on the esteemed manager. Abdelaziz represents the likes of Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman and Justin Gaethje.

Hasbulla poses for a picture with up-and-coming UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev

His relationship with the fighters isn’t all good, after Hasbulla vowed to ’cause problems’ for Conor McGregor if the pair ever meet each other.

Last year, McGregor launched a series of insults at Hasbulla on Twitter, where he called the online personality a ‘smelly little inbred’ and declared: ‘I’d love to boot that little gimp Hasbulla over a goal post.’ McGregor subsequently deleted the tweets.

Hasbulla responded to McGregor’s tweets, and claims he has lost all respect for the 34-year-old. ‘Yeah, I saw all of his Tweets of me. 

‘But, he is not my opponent, he can just talk. He’s not like a fighter for me, I don’t respect him as a fighter,’ Hasbulla told the Full Send podcast.

‘And if I meet him I will cause some problems for him. I don’t know yet [what he will do]. But, I will definitely do something.’

The internet star is also good friends with current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev

WHAT’S HIS NET WORTH?

It’s not been confirmed what Hasbulla’s exact net worth is but, considering his exponential rise in popularity in recent years, it’s likely to be rather impressive.

The 20-year-old is regularly seen in luxury super cars, taking trips on private jets or enjoying lavish dinners. 

And he would’ve received a serious financial boost after signing the deal with the UFC in October. 

On top of all of this, his recently-launched NFT project is likely to have also raked in some substantial figures for the internet star. 

A picture shared to his Instagram account shows Hasbulla standing in-front of a McLaren

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