When Khabib Nurmagomedov lost his cool and called ring girls the “most useless people” in mixed martial arts

Khabib Nurmagomedov is not a fan of ring girls in MMA and has made that opinion exceedingly clear. As the founder of Eagle FC, the former UFC lightweight champion originally gave his thoughts on the subject in a press conference related to the launch of his promotion in 2021.

At the press conference in Moscow, Nurmagomedov was asked about his decision to not have ring girls in Eagle FC. The recently retired fighter bluntly explained his thoughts on how "useless" he felt the position was.

Nurmagomedov said:

"I don't want to offend anyone [but] ring girls are the most useless people in martial arts. What is their function? Just put the number of rounds on the screen. I realize there is a history [with ring girls in MMA]. History knows many mistakes... If we look in the history, it says they are useless."

Nurmagomedov's comments became a topic of conversation on MMA Twitter in the following weeks while several ring girls pushed back on the statement.

Most notably, credentialed ring girl Arianny Celeste offered a video response on Instagram, noting that along with her co-workers, she feels that the occupation has assisted in the growth of the UFC.

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What happened to Khabib Nurmagomedov's promotion, Eagle FC?

Following his sudden retirement in 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov briefly transitioned to his life after fighting as a coach and MMA promoter. 'The Eagle' subsequently purchased the Russian-based Gorilla FC promotion and renamed it Eagle FC after his fighter nickname.

Soon after its rebranding, Eagle FC gained traction from 2021 to 2022 and expanded to the United States, holding events in the FTX Arena in Miami. Nurmagomedov managed to sign prominent former UFC fighters Junior dos Santos, Kevin Lee, and Diego Sanchez to his promotion to headline fight cards.

However, Nurmagomedov announced his decision to take a step back from MMA entirely in 2023, stating a desire to spend more time with his family. In that year, Eagle FC held just three total events after hosting eight in 2022.

The promotion appears to still be functional but has taken a significant step back in its prominence on the MMA scene. With his decrease in the sport, Nurmagomedov has seemingly put the promotion on the back burner while returning its focus to Russia.