Diego Sanchez will fight for the first time since being released by the UFC when he squares off against Kevin Lee in a 165lbs bout on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC 46 on March 11.
During a recent interview with FanSided, Sanchez commented on Nurmagomedov’s decision to exclude ring girls from Eagle FC shows.
“He doesn’t want ring girls in there, there’s no ring girls, you know what I mean? And no disrespect to the ring girls, you know, like that’s Vegas and that’s selling sex,” Sanchez said. “He’s aware of that and he’s like that’s not what I want to do in Eagle FC. You know, Khabib [Nurmagomedov] has been real big on his faith. You know, he has a mountain of faith, in god, and that’s the man I am too. Even though our belief systems maybe a little different, we both believe in a God and so to be able to come into Eagle FC, get my opportunity to fly like an eagle and spread my message. My message is a God message.” (Transcribed by Sportskeeda)
Khabib Nurmagomedov has been pretty clear about his opinion on the presence of ring girls in MMA and previously found himself in hot water calling them “useless”.
“Look, I don’t want to offend anyone, ring girls are the most useless people in martial arts,” Nurmagomedov said back in August 2021. “What is their purpose? I have a question. You can show that it is the second round on the screen.”
“I realize that is a history. History knows many mistakes. We read history to avoid mistakes of the past in the future. If we look in the history, it says they are useless. That is my personal opinion…
“For example, I sit with my father. Every person has his own preferences, the culture and values. I come to Fight Night, sit with my father. These people are passing by and showing that it is the second round. But no one looks at the plate,” Nurmagomedov added.
“I feel uncomfortable with my father. I am not against it. If you want you can do it, but don’t impose it to me, do it aside. There are the designated places for it. I think we must not mix all of it. This is my private opinion.”