Khabib Nurmagomedov has been getting a lot of plaudits for his performance at UFC 242 where he completely annihilated Dustin Poirier. Khabib (28-0) retained his UFC Lighweight Championship as he tapped out Poirier with a rear naked choke in the third round as the crowd in Abu Dhabi went wild. With thousands of fans cheering him on, Khabib proved that he is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time with his performance.
It is a result of hardwork he put in throughout his life and even wrestled bears as a child to hone his skills. Most of the combat sports fans have seen Khabib’s video of wrestling a bear during his childhood. There was another video of the fighter wrestling with his chained bear when he returned to Dagestan before his fight with Poirier.
However, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) took cognizance of the video and sent a complaint to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) over Khabib’s conduct.
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“PETA encourages the UFC to evaluate its relationship with Mr. Nurmagomedov until he shows a clear change in attitude and a commitment to showing animals the respect that they deserve,” Elisa Allen, PETA UK Director, told Business Insider.
{{/usCountry}}“PETA encourages the UFC to evaluate its relationship with Mr. Nurmagomedov until he shows a clear change in attitude and a commitment to showing animals the respect that they deserve,” Elisa Allen, PETA UK Director, told Business Insider.
{{/usCountry}}“Wrestling with a chained bear is loathsome behavior that shows an utter lack of respect for and consideration of who these animals are. In the wild, bears roam across vast territories, foraging, swimming, digging in the dirt, climbing trees, searching for a mate, and expressing other essential, natural types of behavior.
“Those used in Russia for ‘boxing,’ ‘dancing,’ or other archaic forms of entertainment are typically torn from their mothers as cubs, chained, caged, muzzled, beaten, and deprived of everything that’s meaningful to them. PETA urges Mr. Nurmagomedov to stick to wrestling with willing human opponents.”
Khabib had already commented that he had retired the bear from his wrestling camp.
After his win over Poirier at UFC 242, Khabib has many options in front of him. The most obvious one is Tony Ferguson, who is the no. 1 contender and is on a 12-fight winning streak. There is another big name, Conor McGregor lurking in the back ground, who has even commented that he would like to fight in Moscow. However, Khabib maintains that he would like to fight Georges St-Pierre before he calls time on his career.