UFC welterweight Mounir Lazzez earned himself a unanimous decision win at UFC Vegas 51 this weekend, but he’s getting attention for another reason. In his post-fight interview, Lazzez praised alleged Irish mob boss Daniel Kinahan, claiming “without him, I would never be the man I am today”. Backstage, Lazzez explained his connection to the Kinahan cartel to the media.
“That man is a friend and advisor. He’s the one who picked me up every time life would kick me down. He’s a real man of his word and, you know, he’s the one who teached me what does it mean, real family, real friend. It’s someone I cannot thank him enough for where I am today and who I am today.
Mounir Lazzez’s Bizarre Shoutout to Alleged Irish Mob Boss Kinahan
He teached me the real manner, he teached me how to be responsible in my family and my friends and my close ones. That’s why I said that. All the shoutout and credit to him.”
Kinahan recently faced sanctions from the US government, who offered a $5 million reward for information assisting in the disruption of Kinahan’s group.
When asked about his shoutout, Lazzez claimed that he paid no heed to such allegations, instead focusing on his positive relationship with Kinahan. “No, I don’t know that.
I think I’m here to entertain people and I say I give the credit to whoever deserves credit. I’m not involved in this kind of stuff and I don’t know about it and I will investigate how it is and how to go.
For me, it’s a simple thing. It’s a friend outside the gym and just I meet him for advice and things and he helped me through my career.
I don’t follow really this kind of news. I focus on the sport, I focus on my family, I focus on entertaining people and that’s most important.”
Although Lazzez did not clarify whether he had any connection to Kinahan beyond this friendship, he did previously fight for the Probellum promotion. Probellum had a relationship with MTK Global, which was co-founded by Kinahan. MTK reportedly cut ties with Kinahan in 2017, and Probellum recently distanced itself from Kinahan and his organization in a press statement.
Of course, Mounir Lazzez is far from the only fighter with a relationship to alleged organized crime figures. Mike Tyson was once famously chauffeured by notorious Irish gangster Gerry “The Monk” Hutch, and some in the media have claimed a connection between Conor McGregor and elements of the Kinahan cartel.
What do you think of Mounir Lazzez’s post-fight shoutout? Let us know in the comments.
