An unusual scene that took place last weekend during HFC MMA, in Russia, caught the attention of fight lovers, but in a negative way. Just before facing his opponent Arkady Osipyan, already inside the cage, Iranian athlete Ali Heibati kicked a ring girl who announced the first round.
Because of the assault, Heibati ended up being fined by HFC. He will have to pay an amount equivalent to his salary. The amount will be passed on to the ring girl, who has been identified only as Maria. In addition to the amount that the fighter will have to bear, he was also banned from the event.
Watch the moment when the fighter kicks the ring girl:
Ali Heibati kicked a ring girl before his fight at last night’s HFC MMA event. pic.twitter.com/X9aFXvGpIl
— Matysek (@Matysek88) April 20, 2024
The HFC issued a statement, repudiating Ali Heibati’s act: “What happened is beyond all moral and ethical standards. No one has the right to touch, let alone beat the employees and partners of Hardcore Media. In addition, this behavior is absolutely unacceptable with women. Assaulting a woman is as low as a man can go,” the company behind the event wrote.
After the fight, Heibati appeared in a video, alongside the ring girl, to apologize for the aggression: “This is Maria, and I didn’t act in a kind way to her (…). I behaved badly towards Maria and wanted to publicly apologize to her. I’m a married man, so I respect women. She was just doing her job. I want to say: Mary, I’m sorry. If you forgive me, I will be very grateful, since I respect women,” the Iranian athlete said.
The ring girl, however, was not convinced by Ali Heibati’s apology. “He apologized on camera, but I didn’t accept it. (Apologized) Only on video and nothing else. After he gave me the blow, everyone demanded a public apology in the cage, but he didn’t want to,” Maria said in an interview with Russian website Sports 24.
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