ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Prolific Chechen martial artist Khamzat Chimaev on Thursday referred to Kurds and Chechens as “brothers” and urged unity, after Kurdish fighter Namo Fazil claimed he was attacked by a group of Chechen men ahead of his Tuesday bout.

Fazil, who was on a seven-fight winning streak, suffered a knockout defeat to Brazilian fighter Kaik Brito during Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday.

Hours after the bout, the Kurdish fighter took to Instagram to apologize to his supporters for his performance, and reveal that he had been assaulted the day before the fight.

“I hear a knock on the door… I said to my coach, ‘Could you please open the door?’ and 15 people entered the room. 15 Chechens entered… One of them came at me and slapped me. I told him ‘Bitch, be a man. Let me finish the fight. I have a fight tomorrow, the biggest fight of my life,’ and he slapped me a second time… My coaches told me ‘Namo, don’t fight,’ and held me back” said Fazil in a video message.

Fazil did not name the alleged attackers by name but described them as “Chechens” and “fighters”. The rising Kurdish MMA star said he was unable to sleep following the incident, which may have impacted his performance the day after.

“I just want to say that if something happens between two men, they need to sort things out between them self with out letting media make fitna [sedition] between nations. We all are brothers. Chechens and Kurds we are Muslims and we should stay united,” read the statement from Chimaev on Thursday.

There have been no confirmed details regarding the assault on Fazil, but many have suggested the attack may be linked to the Kurdish fighter’s previous comments about another Chechen fighter, Islam Dulatov.

In an interview ahead of the fight, Fazil is seen taunting the model-turned-fighter Dulatov, describing him as “soft” and “feminine”, and stating: “He's a female to me.”

Following Fazil’s loss, Baisangur Susurkaev, another Chechen fighter and teammate of Chimaev, posted a picture of his hand on social media, with the caption reading: “Left hand 2-0 Namo cryer.”

“I’m not happy with the things that happened. I respect strong Kurdish people. When someone speaks bad then he should know there always will be consequences,” said Chimaev in an apparent reference to Fazil’s earlier comments.

Fazil goes by the nickname of the Grandson of Salahuddin, in reference to the 12^th century Kurdish commander and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, who is also a highly-respected figure in Islamic history for leading Muslim armies to defeat the Christian Crusaders and reclaim Jerusalem in 1187.

“Salahuddin Ayyubi was one of the greatest warriors there ever been in this world, because of the respect for him I named my brothers son Salahuddin,” Chimaev concluded his message, without directly addressing Fazil throughout.

Following Tuesday’s fight, Dulatov posted a video to social media congratulating Brito on his “huge win” and “phenomenal performance,” and offered the Brazilian fighter $5,000 bonus for his victory.

“I think our princess is humbled now,” said Dulatov in the video.

Fazil has yet to publicly address Dulatov and Chimaev’s comments.