UFC Fighter Khamzat Chimaev Addresses SMASH Meme Coin Controversy

Embattled UFC fighter Khamzat Chimaev has addressed the recent controversy surrounding his promotion of the SMASH meme coin, which plummeted in value

Embattled UFC fighter Khamzat Chimaev has addressed the recent controversy over his promotion of the SMASH meme coin, which plummeted in value shortly after launch.

Chimaev, who is recovering from an illness that forced him to withdraw from his last fight, faced accusations of promoting a pump-and-dump scheme after a video promoting the Solana-based coin appeared on his social media.

Previously, Chimaev's manager took responsibility, admitting he "agreed to record a short video promoting their launch" without proper scrutiny. The manager apologized to Chimaev and fans, stating:

"We agreed to record a short video promoting their launch, they handled everything else, and we trusted them to do the right thing. Obviously, they didn't and a lot of people got burned. I feel terrible for everyone involved, especially Khamzat, and I take full responsibility for my actions."

Now, Chimaev himself has seemingly endorsed a video posted on his social media platform by a purported member of the SMASH token team. The video claims the developers never had direct contact with Chimaev, potentially absolving the fighter of any intentional wrongdoing.

"We never spoke to Khamzat directly, we never paid him, we never had any contact with him or his team. We used an agency to help us find influencers, and they approached Khamzat's team with our launch details and got us the video. Maybe his team never told him the full details, or maybe he just didn't care, but either way we never spoke to him."

The video also alleges that an agency approached Chimaev's team with the launch details and secured the video for SMASH's launch. However, the claim that the developers had no direct contact with Chimaev contrasts with earlier statements made by ZachXBT, a popular blockchain investigator who delved into the token's activity on X.

ZachXBT's investigation uncovered suspicious movements aligned with a pump-and-dump scheme, in which celebrities endorse a cryptocurrency to inflate its price before selling their holdings for a substantial profit. This tactic often leaves unsuspecting investors with plummeting investments. The investigator was reportedly able to connect Chimaev to the scheme by tracing the involved cryptocurrency.

"Someone connected the dots between Khamzat and SMASH after I posted the X activity. Maybe his manager, maybe someone else in his team. And then they reached out to the SMASH team to get this video made and posted on Khamzat's page to clear his name."

Check out ZachXBT's post below:

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