Karen Alert! Khabib Deems Ring Girls Useless

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Khabib Nurmagomedov has moved into the next stage of his fight life. He’s accepted the role of masterful head coach with grace, coaching several of his Dagestani and American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) peers to success in recent months. In addition, Nurmagomedov has launched his own fight promotion, Eagle FC, which airs on UFC Fight Pass.

As the “Eagle” in charge, Nurmagomedov can do as he’d like with his promotion, which has hosted several events already. Notably, there have been no ring girls at the shows, a decision Nurmagomedov elaborated on in a recent press conference.

“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,” Khabib said (via Middle Easy). “I realize that is a history. 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…”

While repeatedly reiterating that this was solely his opinion and applied to his own promotion, Nurmagomedov explained that the presence of ring girls made him uncomfortable. He also acknowledged that differences in culture.

“For example, I sit with my father. Every person has his own preferences, the culture and values. I come to Fight Night, sit with my father. These people are passing by and showing that it is the second round. But no one looks at the plate,” Khabib added. “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 private opinion.”

Maybe that Paddy Pimblett lad was onto something after all?

In all seriousness, Khabib’s beliefs and opinions should not be shocking given his background and previous statements. “The Eagle” is a devout Muslim who grew up in the mountains of Russia — is it a surprise that his values do not perfectly line up with the more common Western viewpoints?

Besides, he’s not the first champion to take a shot at ring girls.

The Return Of Shameless Self-Promotion

Hey y’all, I’ve once again got a fight booked. This time, we’re heading back to Florida to compete for CFFC, one of the best regional shows in the country.

As with all my pro fights, I raise funds to cover camp costs/actually make a profit via the fight banner. $5 or more gets your name/screen name/nickname on the fight banner, and it enters you into a raffle to win the banner itself. Payment options include venmo: AndyLRichardson (1572), PayPal, or the latest GoFundMe page. Complete details are HERE!

And, for those that don’t care for my fight career and its associated e-begging, all the coming Midnight Manias will have the same amount of content as usual. Simply skip this section each night and it’s like nothing happened!

Insomnia

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Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.