‘They acted like beasts’: MMA coach warns thugs who savagely beat man in Moscow subway assault ‘will learn good & bad in prison’

A group of men accused of hospitalizing a victim they kicked in the head after he defended a woman on a subway have been condemned by the coach of MMA fighter Magomed Ismailov, who has joined the Kremlin in voicing his disgust.

A trio of thugs have been charged with attempted murder and threatening police officers following the alleged harrowing incident in Moscow last week, when Roman Kovalev stood up for a woman during an altercation, copping a broken nose and bone under his eye and a cut eyebrow in the violent incident.

The press secretary of Russian president Vladimir Putin called the perpetrators "scum", and the mayor of the capital, Sergey Sobyanin, visited Kovalev and pledged financial support for him following an attack by the group identified as Dagestanis.

Ramazan Ismailov, the coach and brother of middleweight veteran Magomed Ismailov, is quoted to have insisted that the men would not have been allowed to carry out their attack in 95% of cases in Dagestan, adding that their target had acted heroically.

Warning: video contains blood

"They acted like beasts, no matter what nation [they are from]," the sidekick of the 35-year-old fighter said.

"I thought they were in some kind of drug intoxication, [or] it [would have] turned out they were drunk.

"If, having reached that age, they did not understand what is good and bad, then they will learn this in prison."

Dmitry Peskov, of the Kremlin, did not hold back when he discussed the troubling episode. "We would not talk about inter-ethnic tensions," the representative told RIA.

"We are talking about scum, about hooligans – no matter what nationality they are.

"It is very gratifying that they were quickly detained, that all the necessary procedural actions in relation to them – the investigation and so on – will now be carried out."

Kovalev's girlfriend, Anna, praised Kovalev's bravery, and her Instagram page was inundated with messages of support following his ordeal.

The recuperating bartender was initially reluctant to show his patched-up right eye as he lay in bed, and he provided followers with details of how to offer financial support, adding: "I'll obviously not be able to go to work soon, so any help will not be superfluous.

"Thank you all for your wishes, which are very nice. I wish everyone health and not to get into such incidents.

"Thanks to everyone personally for their support and kind words. The recovery is in full swing."