A few months ago, Khabib Nurmagomedov somewhat controversially stated that ring girls in MMA and boxing were of no use.
Speaking at a press conference, he said: “Look, I don’t want to offend anyone, ring girls are the most useless people in martial arts. What is their purpose? I have a question. You can show that it is the second round on the screen.”
These remarks were made whilst promoting his Eagle Fighting Championship organisation, but instead of support, this brewed a lot of fury among the MMA community. Not only that, fighters themselves got involved by mainly criticising the Russian.
There is no question about Khabib’s legacy as a fighter in the MMA world. With an astounding 29-0 record, he arguably is one of the best in the business. But as a promoter, he is relatively new.
The Eagle FC president has recently backed his opinion about why he thinks ring girls are not important in MMA.
Khabib Doubles Down on Ring Girls Opinion
Despite the criticism and the backlash he received, at a recent press conference in front of the live audience in the UK, he doubled down on his opinion about ring girls by saying: “Couple months ago, someone ask me about… I have a promotion. I have my own promotion Eagle Fighting Championship and someone asks why there are no ring girls there. I say because I think (there’s) no reason. It’s my opinion.”
Following his defence for his previous remarks, the UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko came forward in defence of the ring girls. She said that these girls were part of the fight since the beginning of the UFC days.
Despite the criticism, Khabib stands firm on his opinion and believes that his upbringing had a huge part to play in it.
“I’m born with this, I grew up with this, and I have straight my opinion. Sometimes, like, people, when I say something, they don’t agree with this. But, who cares? I don’t care because I know I am right. In my mind. Because everybody has their views on something.”
The unbeaten Dagestan fighter last stepped in the Octagon when he faced Justin Gaethje, where he comfortably won.
Despite his experience as a fighter, his career as a promoter is still in its youth days.