And record-breaking pay-per-view numbers. Instead of deterring McGregor with a fine or suspension and taking a firm stance against bigotry, White enabled his biggest star like he has in the past, knowing that the hateful tirade directed at Nurmagomedov didn’t make sense but spelled dollars. Instead of censoring McGregor, White smiled. The UFC is just as responsible for what took place after Nurmagomedov finally unleashed his pent-up frustration on McGregor, which tainted the UFC far more than it did the fighter forced to endure so much before the fight. McGregor’s stardom and whiteness have enabled him to get away with almost anything during fight promotions - most infamously, his attack on the bus in Brooklyn, New York, in April that left many fighters injured, which White condemned but showcased as the center of UFC 229’s promotion.Īfter the melee, White said he was “disgusted and sick over it.” But what did he do, before the fight, to prevent the bad blood from boiling past the final bell? Instead of White stepping in and stopping McGregor from using deeply personal, ethnic and Islamophobic taunts against Nurmagomedov, he “let Conor be Conor” and capitalized on bigotry to promote the fight. Dana White, on the other hand, stood between the two fighters, knowing that this promotional formula equaled more attention, and more money. This was not the fight nor the promotion he signed up for. Nurmagomedov sat stone-faced and silent, absorbing everything that McGregor hurled at him, his family, his father and his faith. McGregor made digs into Nurmagomedov’s ethnic identity by posting on his Instagram, and he offered Nurmagomedov a drink of his Irish whiskey during a news conference weeks before their fight, knowing that he abstains from alcohol. Nurmagomedov - an unapologetic Muslim who prays before bouts and proclaimed, “Thank God” in Arabic after Friday’s weigh-in - took these attacks on his trainer as attacks on him and his faith, which exacerbated the bad blood going into Saturday’s bout.
UFC 229 SODA PLAYER FULL
Islamophobia was on full display during the promotion, with McGregor calling Nurmagomedov’s Egyptian trainer Ali Abdelaziz, also a Muslim, a “f-ing snitch terrorist rat,” descending on his ethnicity and faith to unleash loaded, bigoted slurs. What about this?”ĭuring the fight’s buildup, McGregor did just that, ridiculing Nurmagomedov’s Islamic faith and his ethnic roots and taking dig after dig at his father. After the fight, and the melee, Nurmagomedov vented, “I’m a human being, but I don’t understand how people can talk about jumping on the cage when he talks about my religion, he talked about my country, he talks about my father and he comes to Brooklyn and he broke the bus and almost killed a couple of people. His target this time, Nurmagomedov, is a devout Muslim and proud native of Dagestan, a region marred by ethnic and religious persecution. He’s done it before with the likes of Jose Aldo, Nate Diaz and Floyd Mayweather. His unequivocal whiteness resonates deeply with a core of UFC’s audience, and his bankability has amplified his privilege - which he often displays by directing insensitive ethnic and religious slurs at his opponents. Although boasting a predominantly white male fan base and a stable of fighters largely composed of that demographic, the UFC has adopted many of these long-standing racial tactics to promote its sport and its most bankable fighter, McGregor. The world of combat sports, particularly boxing, has long preyed upon race, national rivalries and full-fledged racism to promote fights. Nurmagomedov initiated the mess after the fight, dubbed the “biggest in UFC history,” but the violent aftermath revealed how promoting fights on the back of ethnic taunts and religious bigotry can have explosive consequences. Nurmagomedov leapt above the cage and confronted McGregor’s team, while McGregor responded by trading blows with Nurmagomedov’s cornermen inside of it.
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