In the final months of 2025, Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov sharply increased his visibility in the world of mixed martial arts, attending UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi, appearing in photos with fighters, and accepting an offer to walk middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev to the octagon as a cornerman. These efforts culminated in major commercial collaborations with both the UFC and ex-champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, from which Telegram is estimated to have earned at least $8.1 million (about 633 million rubles). 

Khabib had recently launched an official, verified Telegram channel sharing training footage and personal updates, and publicly invited Durov to train with his “brotherhood,” to which Durov replied, “Send location, brother.” Durov’s growing MMA involvement is tightly interwoven with Telegram’s new revenue‑generating partnerships around combat sports.

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