Back when he was still competing in the UFC, Khabib Nurmagomedov had made a very controversial remark stating that the UFC does not need ring girls and that they serve no purpose. And even though there was a lot of backlash at the time, the absence of ring girls at the UFC Saudi Arabia event has fans hailing the undefeated Dagestani.
The presence of ring girls in combat sports has been a controversial subject since the days of yore. Is it sexist to have them there, when they only serve as eye candy?
Is it sexist to not have them there and deny them an opportunity at gainful employment because some fighter’s conservative values don’t align with it?
All these are very interesting questions that MMA fans and otherwise have been asking for decades.
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But following the UFC Saudi event, people have had an opportunity to hail Khabib for his stance.
“Khabib was right though”
Another fan spoke about how he didn’t even realize the ring girls were not at the event and revealed what fans want to see instead,
“I just realized and yes we don’t need them in octagon we need only fights”
Yet another fan pointed out how Khabib Nurmagomedov was right about ring girls not serving any purpose,
“Khabib was right lol”
This fan believed that not having ring girls was optimal time management as it reduced the time between rounds,
“This was nice, less time wasted for everyone.”
One fighter came up with a very interesting idea when he stated that the money saved on ring girls should be used to pay the fighters better purses.
“Save more money to pay the fighters”
Although fans believe Khabib Nurmagomedov was right about the ring girls, Ikram Aliskerov’s KO loss to Robert Whittaker proves Khabib is no clairvoyant.
Robert Whittaker foils Khabib Nurmagomedov’s prediction
Khabib Nurmagomedov had nothing but praise for his fellow Dagestani fighter after Aliskerov took the fight on short notice.
Aliskerov was still a relatively untested fighter but ‘The Eagle’ had a lot of faith in him and claimed that he saw the future of a star for him.
“When Ikram steps into the octagon, it feels like he uses 200% of his capabilities. That’s the impression I get, I’ve known him since childhood. I think Ikram is a future star.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that Ikram Aliskerov is a future star in the UFC:
“When Ikram steps into the octagon, it feels like he uses 200% of his capabilities. That’s the impression I get, I’ve known him since childhood.
I think Ikram is a future star.”
YT / @TeamKhabib… pic.twitter.com/qBbUiciaG4
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 20, 2024
Unfortunately, come the day of reckoning, things didn’t go as planned, as ‘Bobby Knuckles’ knocked out the Dagestani fighter with a vicious uppercut in the very first round itself.
While Aliskerov can’t truly be held accountable for the loss, given that he only had days to prepare, it does cement Bobby Knuckles’ legacy as being the gatekeeper of the middleweight division.
