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US mixed martial art fighter Jeff Monson receives Russian passport

The ceremony took place in Patriot Park near Moscow on Tuesday, June 12 marked as Russia Day

© Mikhail Pochuev/TASS

MOSCOW, June 12. /TASS/. Moscow Regional Governor Andrei Vorobyev has handed a Russian passport to US athlete Jeff Monson the governor’s press service said.

The ceremony took place in Patriot Park near Moscow on Tuesday, June 12 marked as Russia Day.

Read also

Putin grants Russian citizenship to US athlete Jeffrey Monson

"Today, we have a chance of handing a passport of the Russian Federation to legendary martial arts fighter Jeff Monson," Vorobyev said.

"I, Jeff Monson, hereby accepting citizenship of the Russian Federation, voluntarily and consciously swear an oath to observe the Constitution and laws of the Russian Federation, the rights and freedoms of its citizens; to fulfill the duties of a Russian citizen for the benefit of the state and society; to protect the freedom and independence of the Russian Federation; to be faithful to Russia, and to respect its culture, history and traditions," Monson read out the oath.

On May 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree to grant Russian citizenship to US athlete Jeffrey Monson.

Jeffry William Monson, nicknamed The Snowman, hails from Minnesota, US. He has so far held 85 fights as a mixed martial artist, chalking up 60 victories. Likewise, he is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion.

Monson, a mixed martial arts fighter, is a native of Minnesota. He has held 85 fights to win 60 of them. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion. Monson is known for his fondness of Russia and its Soviet past. Many times he began his fights to the tune of the Soviet anthem. In 2016, he received the title of honorary citizen of Abkhazia and last year, a passport of the citizen of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic.

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