Khabib Nurmagamedov Might Just be the Most Intimidating Fighter on the UFC Roster today… That Doesn’t Stop the Social Media World Cracking Down on the Russian Champion Though… He’s Attracted the Fury of Netizens After Posting a Clip of Him Playing Around With a Chained Bear…
2018 was an incredible year for Khabib Nurmagamedov. The Dagestani fighter won the UFC lightweight title by beating Al Iaquinta after the craziest week in UFC history. Then he consolidated his title in his first title defence against former champion Conor McGregor.
Beating the biggest star the sport has ever produced push Khabib into the spotlight and has made him a massive draw in his own country as well as many Islamic nations who see the devout Muslim as a shining role model for their faith. However, when you win a lot of fans at once, it’s hard to keep them all.
A clip, posted by the champ on Instagram, has attracted a lot of negative attention. Check out Khabib teasing a chained circus bear below and see what you make of it.
Хабиб Нурмагомедов провел "спарринг" с медведем https://t.co/QlWg3uVxNy pic.twitter.com/rHei4nDxui
— РИА Новости (@rianru) April 28, 2019
Bad Taste
The bear in the video is obviously still only a cub because he’s small and doesn’t rip the UFC champion limb-from-limb. Khabib is surrounded by his goons who stand and laugh as the Russian fighter goes toe-to-toe with the cuddly-looking cub. The worst part of this video though is the big chain around the bear’s neck.
If you took that away, then you could bet that there wouldn’t be half the public outcry that there has been over this one. But if you put up a video of you wrestling a chained-up cute bear cub, then you’ve got to expect some criticism. Probably not the smartest promotional move by the 150lb king.
Rematch
In the Instagram post, Khabib referred to the bear as being an ‘old friend.’ He’s referring of course to the very famous clip of him wrestling an even smaller bear cub when he was only a young child himself. It’s the craziest, most-Russian video you’ll ever watch and we’ve linked it up above for you as well.
Here are some of the Twitter reactions:
@Pearcy_: “Whoever had the idea to get their child to wrestle a bear deserved a f*cking knighthood. That is the reason why Khabib is undefeated. They f*cking trained the bear to defend takedown lik3 wtf.”
@JessiKassen: “TheNotoriousMMA I just saw Khabib torturing a baby bear. I hope you will kill him in the next fight. I can’t understand how a fighter can do something like this. Shame.
@RobRoberts1984: “
@ufc Absolutely disgusted at Khabib and the “bear wrestling”. Unacceptable. No longer a fan of this man. Don’t make some excuse about it being a “cultural” thing. If that’s the case, your culture is f$&@ing backwards. Be a man and do what’s right, stop this activity.”
Return
Khabib will be eligible to return in one month after his suspension ends. However, it’s looking more likely that it will be around September before we see him back in a cage, as he’s set to take on interim champion Dustin Poirier. That should be a great fight.
Let’s see if this bear-baiting pays off.
