A former UFC fighter who once served as Jeffrey Epstein’s bodyguard has spoken out.
Epstein was a multimillionaire hedge fund manager. On July 6, Epstein was arrested at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on sex trafficking charges. A search of his townhouse revealed that Epstein kept hundreds, perhaps thousands of fully and partially naked females. Some of them were underage (via USA TODAY).
Epstein was being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. On Aug. 10, he was found dead in his cell. United States Attorney General William Barr called the death an apparent suicide (via CNN). Many believe Epstein was killed as he may have been able to reveal other names involved in the sex trafficking case.
M.L. Nestel of The Intelligencer spoke to one-time UFC fighter Igor Zinoviev, who was Epstein’s bodyguard. Zinoviev spoke about his relationship with Epstein.
“In New York, I didn’t drive him. In New York, he had a driver, whatever his name was. He was like old family. I was just training with him in New York and travel with him. And I just drove him here in Palm Beach. Because other places he had different drivers. They’re just personnel, you know, who just drive him. Somebody drive him in New Mexico. Somebody drive him in Virgin Islands, actually. I just drove him here in Palm Beach.”
Nestel had interviewed Zinoviev before and said that the former fighter told him that he tried telling Epstein to stop hanging out with teenage girls. Zinoviev denied making the comment.
“No, no. It’s not that. He working like work-release on other stuff. And I just tell him, you know, he would order his girlfriends around, and I told him, ‘Calm down.’ It’s not just teenage girls.
I never see teenage girls in my life at his house. That’s what it is. That’s a misunderstanding. Completely. That’s because — that’s what I’m saying. Most of the time with reporters they give me that kind of questions. ‘Who told you I see the teenage girls?’ I never see the teenage girls in my life. And they said I was —”
When asked what he thinks of Epstein’s death, Zinoviev made it clear that he feels foul play was involved.
“Are you sure you want to hear what I am going to think? Somebody helped him to do that.”
Zinoviev’s lone fight in the UFC took place back in March 1998. He took on Frank Shamrock in a bout that only lasted 22 seconds. Zinoviev was knocked out via slam.
