Khabib Nurmagomedov won’t be showing off ring girls at his new Eagle Fighting Championship, because the Russian former UFC champion sees them as useless. Speaking at a press conference in Moscow, Khabib shared his opinion on ring girls in MMA.
“Look, I don’t want to offend anyone: Ring girls are the most useless people in martial arts. What is their function? I have a question. You can show that it is the second round on the screen.
Khabib: Ring Girls “The Most Useless People in Martial Arts”
I realize that is a history (behind 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.
Dana White maybe likes it. Maybe you do, too. But my name is not Dana. My name is Khabib.” Khabib’s conservative take on Islamic culture, he says, is the source of his discomfort with the scantily clad ladies around the Octagon.
“I sit with my father (at an event). Every person has his own preferences, the culture and values. I come to fight night (and) sit with my father. These (ring card girls) are passing by and showing people that it is the second round.
But no one looks at the (round number). 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 (personal) opinion.”
Khabib recently purchased the Russian fight promotion Gorilla, rebranding it the Eagle Fighting Championship. It’s safe to say that Khabib’s promotion probably won’t feature any ring girls or the pageantry that often accompanies big UFC events. In line with Khabib’s brutal utilitarian approach, EFC may attempt to bill itself as pure sporting spectacle.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is a devout conservative Muslim, native to Russia’s Dagestan region. His take on ring girls is far from Khabib’s most controversial cultural position. The former champ made headlines criticizing rap music, and once suggested closing all nightclubs in Dagestan. Infamously, Khabib once broadly addressed female fighters in the UFC, telling them “For females, I have very good advice, be fighters at home, And one more advice, all the time, finish your husband.”
Khabib is also happy to rub shoulders with the likes of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen dictator widely accused of flagrant human rights abuses. Khabib is happy to use the platform granted to him by his UFC career to further his conservative worldview, and his dismissal of ring girls is no exception to the rule.
Do you think Khabib is right, and the UFC’s ring girls are the most useless people in martial arts? Let us know in the comments.
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