UFC hopeful calls Afghan opponent ‘terrorist’ during ugly exchange at weigh-in
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MMA fans have reacted furiously after an Afghan fighter was labelled a 'terrorist' by his opponent during a heated weigh-in.
On Monday night, Israeli UFC hopeful Oron Kahlon missed weight ahead of his bout in Las Vegas with Javid Basharat, which clearly angered his bantamweight rival as he declined Kahlon's offer of a handshake.
The pair them became embroiled in an intense stare-down, at which point Kahlon appeared to taunt 'The Snow Leopard' with the insult.
Footage of the incident reached social media after various MMA followers tweeted footage of the video clip.
Marcel Dorff, co-owner of MMA DNA on Twitter, wrote: "Oron Kahlon missed weight (3lbs too heavy) for his scheduled fight tomorrow at #DWCS. He will be fined 20% of his purse.
"Javid Basharat wasn't happy about it and didn't shake hands with Kahlon. Kahlon called him a terrorist soon after….and prompted an angry backlash towards Kahlon, 36."
"Disgusting," tweeted Shaheen Al-Shatti, deputy editor at MMAfighting.com.
Journalist Sameera Khan added "Israeli fighter calling an Afghan fighter “terrorist” for no damn reason," while another MMA reporter in Ariel Helwani urged Kahlon, 36, to say sorry: "Miss weight and then spew this? Cmon, Oron Kahlon. This is not the way. Hopefully an apology is forthcoming."
Should Kahlon be banned for his behaviour? Let us know in the comments section.
To his credit, Basharat, 26, kept his composure and simply kept pointing at his opponent, but did then later refer to the incident on social media and encouraged fans to heckle Kahlon during the contest.
"This p**sy wanted a way out by missing weight by 3 pounds," he wrote on his Instagram profile, along with a video of the weigh-in.
"I told him I’m gonna still whoop his a**e, he then called me a terrorist wanted a reaction again he wanted a way out. Unlucky for him I ain’t going nowhere!
"I’m waiting to see him tomorrow. Booooo (his opponent) guys, let him have it."
The slur tainted what was set to be a pivotal bout between two unbeaten fighters. Kahlon, known as 'The Phenom', had an MMA record of 12-0-0 while Basharat's stood at 10-0-0 heading into the fight.
And Basharat let his fighting do the talking with a dominant performance, closing out victory over his Israeli opponent via a third round submission.
The fight was part of the 'Contender series', which forms part of Dana White's project to unearth new talent capable of competing in the UFC.
Basharat didn't let the controversy get to him and after his thrilling victory, came out with a contract within UFC.
Ahead of the fight, TV broadcaster Jason Hagholm thought the Israeli fighter had already ruined his own chances of impressing, tweeting: "Kahlon just ruining his MMA Career in one day."
- UFC
- Dana White
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