Former UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov raised plenty of controversy recently when he dismissed the ring girls in MMA as “useless”. Countless fighters and ring card girls themselves responded to this criticism.
The latest voice in this chorus is UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Schevchenko, who demolished Lauren Murphy in a one-sided title defense at UFC 266. Schevchenko made a point at the event of interacting with the ring girls, making them feel welcome and valued. At the post-fight press conference, she addressed Khabib’s remarks directly.
Schevchenko Reacts to Khabib’s Ring Girl Comments: “NO ONE has the right to say they are useless”
“Beautiful women is a decoration of any event, and I want people to know that, and no one has the right to say they are useless, because they are in the place where they have to be.
They were here at the beginning, and you will come to any event, and you will see beautiful woman, and you, as a man, like everyone, enjoys it, right? It’s beautiful, right? This is decoration. That’s why this is my message: Beautiful women are a decoration of any event.”
Schevchenko’s impassioned defense of “beautiful women” came in the wake of Khabib announcing that there would be no ring girls, beautiful or otherwise, at his newly purchased Eagle Fighting Championship.
“What is their function? I have a question. You can show that it is the second round on the screen. … I realize that is a history [with ring card girls]. History knows many mistakes. We read history to avoid mistakes of the past in the future.
If we look in the history, it says they are useless. That is my personal opinion. [UFC President] Dana White maybe likes it. Maybe you do, too. But my name is not Dana. My name is Khabib.”
Khabib also pointed out that seeing scantily clad women at a fight made him “uncomfortable”, particularly as he fought with his father in his corner.
“I feel uncomfortable with my father. I am not against it. If you want, you can do it. But don’t impose it to me. Do it aside. There are the designated places for it. I think we must not mix all of it. This is my opinion.”
Khabib, a devout Muslim, has in recent years used his increased profile to further his ultra-conservative worldview. Khabib frequently blasts art, music, and lifestyle that he finds offensive, including an attempt to close nightclubs and ban rap concerts in his native Dagestan.
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