An unfortunate incident occurred at the Hard Fighting Championship (HFC) on Friday, just before the fight between Arkady Osipyan and Mummahd Heibati. As the ring girl walked around the octagon, signaling the start of the first round, Heibati kicked her buttocks as she passed by him with her back turned. A video clip of the incident surfaced on the Instagram page homeoffight, captioned “This is so wrong.”
Heibeti failed to control his emotions and deliberately broke the rules of the event. This led to his lifetime ban from the organization. Heibati has since posted an apology video on social media, directed specifically at Maria. In the video, he stated, “Hello everyone. This is for Maria. I didn’t act right with her. The reason was that before the MMA fight, there were a lot of fistfights. I stayed there in the cage, and I just wanted to go out and fight.”
View this post on Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Now, the Russian MMA promotion HFC has branded Iranian fighter Mohammad Heibati with the title the “lowest a man can get.” This reignites the controversy surrounding the importance of discipline and self-control in combat sports.
In the comment section of the reel, MMA fans are divided, with some supporting Heibati and others condemning his behavior. Some fans speculate that Khabib Nurmagomedov, who has previously expressed his disapproval of ring girls, might be happy about this incident. It’s important to note that there’s been no official comment from Nurmagomedov on this matter.
Fans had mixed reactions to the fighter’s misdemeanor
One of the fans commented, “This feels so Russian. Like she turned around to fight him over it.” This comment seems to be making a stereotype about Russians, suggesting that they are all aggressive, regardless of gender.
Another fan, directly implying she didn’t need to be in the octagon for a long time, said, “She was doing too much anyway,” which directly implies she doesn’t have to stay in the octagon too much.“
One fan, concerned about potential legal action, commented, “Lawsuit incoming sadly.” The trolling continued with comments like “Get her out the ring.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
One fan, humorously referencing Khabib Nurmagomedov’s views on the ring girls, said, “Khabib somewhere smiling.” In the past, a ring girl admitted to changing clothes due to Khabib’s discomfort, and he has also attracted criticism for his dismissive comments about ring girls.
Seamglesly out of the blue, Hayden Iverson, the admin of the Instagram page @homeoffight, chimed in with a comment he said, “valid.” Another user wrote, “He was wrong. Completely wrong. But it’s hilarious watching her walk towards him all menacingly like there was anything she could’ve possibly done.”
Another comment reads, “Ring girls are useless.” This comment highlights the 2015 controversial beef created between Ronda Rousey and Arianny Celeste, which shows that ring girls and Octagon also have an old controversial relationship.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The misbehavior of MMA players seems to have risen in recent years. The latest incidents include Brazilian fighter Igor Severino being cut from the UFC for biting his opponent. Later in UFC 300 Arman Tsarukyan’s altercation with member of the audience after allegedly receiving offensive comments. Regardless of whose mistake it was, as public figures, fighters need to maintain composure. Agree or Disagree?