- Iranian MMA fighter named Ali Heibati kicked a girl, punched his opponent after the fight and attacked by Russian fans in one Hard Fighting Championship event
- Heibati is now banned to compete at Hard Fighting Championship in Moscow
An Iranian MMA fighter named Ali Heibati was jumped by some Russian fans after kicking a ring girl and punching his opponent when the fight was over.
Ali doesn’t like ring girls
Ali was about to face Arkady Osipyan at Hard Fighting Championship in Moscow last week. What seemed to be a normal MMA event took a wild turn after Heibati kicked a ring girl just before the fight started.
It also didn’t help that Heibati was finished by Osipyan via ground and pound in the opening round. Moments after the referee stopped the fight, Heibati charged at Osipyan, who didn’t see him coming, and began unloading cheap shots.
A group of angry Russian male then attacked Heibati and an ugly brawl began to happen. Heibati later apologized to the ring girl identified as Maria but apparently, it was too late.
“Hello everyone, this is for Maria,” Heibati said on social media. “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. I was tense and, as most understand, emotions flourish in the fight, so before the fight I acted badly towards María.”
“I want to publicly apologize to her,” Heibati continued. “I am a married man, so I respect the female gender. She was doing her job and I, after the fight, didn’t admit my guilt either, because they also hit me on the head. Tell María that I am sorry.”
Ali Heibati, kicked the ring girl, lost the fight, threw an illegal punch, was beaten by the Russian crowd and banned for life – all in one night! pic.twitter.com/0fVQLxSe92
— cage.news (@cagenews3) April 23, 2024
HFC banned Ali
Despite feeling guilty for what he has done, Heibati faced another consequence of his unsportsmanlike behavior. The HFC has already released a statement which revealed that Heibati has been banned from the promotion for life.
“What happened in today’s live broadcast is beyond all moral and ethical standards,” HFC wrote in a subsequent statement. “No one has any right to touch, let alone beat the staff, employees and partners of Hardcore Media. Moreover, such marginal behavior is absolutely unacceptable towards women. Loosening your hands towards ladies is the lowest a man can go to. The League decided that in the context of the current situation, the apologies already made by Ali Heibati are absolutely not enough. He will be fined for his fee, and the entire amount will be transferred to ring-girl Maria.”
“Also, all participants of mass backstage fights will be disqualified and removed from appearances in Hardcore Media promotions,” the statement continued. “At this moment, we are identifying all the names and culprits who have participated in these acts of unsportsmanlike behavior. Respect yourself, respect each other, respect the code of honor and simple moral values. Respect the behavioral norms of the civilized society you are part of.,” he added.
Muslim MMA fighter from Iran kicked a ring girl because of her clothes at a tournament in Russia
Before the fight, a fighter from Iran, Ali Heibati, kicked a girl who brought out a sign with the round number.
In the first round, the Iranian lost to the representative of… pic.twitter.com/cR64IZp7JD
— Voice of Europe 🌍 (@V_of_Europe) April 21, 2024
Heibati’s stoppage loss to Osipyan was the first of his pro MMA career. He now has a 0-1 record but it is yet to be known if another promotion would be interested in him.