Photo: Instagram/Alain Ngalani
The MMA fighter went viral for his coronavirus video.
Alain Ngalani is using his flexibly, not his brute strength, to combat COVID-19.
Ngalani (4-5-0-1 in MMA, 25-8-1-3 in kickboxing) is eager to follow through with his scheduled fight against Vitor Belfort in ONE Championship but he cannot do with the current state of the pandemic. Ngalani achieved viral fame earlier this month after pulling a stunt on Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR). Ngalani — a heavyweight who last tipped the scales at 243.5 lbs — was seated on public transit when a mask-less passenger approached. Ngalani extended his legs into a split position, covering the entire row of seats and preventing the passenger from sitting near him.
We appreciate the commitment to social distancing and the flexibility!
Wear a mask.pic.twitter.com/TLdKfDwJGB
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) July 17, 2020
“I’ve had enough of not working, of not competing and not travelling. I hope we can get this over with,” Hong Kong’s Ngalani told South China Morning Post. “It’s crazy. I wasn’t expecting it. I just posted it on my IG [Instagram], in the next hour or two my IG couldn’t stop blowing up, my phone couldn’t stop blowing up. It’s amazing.”
The act even caught the attention of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“At first it’s something I thought about doing when I was on the MTR, and I had an opportunity because someone came and was not wearing a mask. I thought, ‘How can I do that but not in a scary way?’ Something that’s me, but something that’s funny. Normally I can do that. I could do a splits on the chair to block someone from sitting close to me if he’s not wearing a mask. I thought, ‘OK, I perform the scene without scaring everyone,’” Ngalani said. “Right now, time is crucial. Safety is important. So I’m just reminding people to be aware of their surroundings.”
“We’re going in Hong Kong through the third phase. I think just like me, a lot of people have had enough of this coronavirus,” he concluded. “We have to do our part to be sensible and to be cautious. One of the first things to do is to wear a mask to protect ourselves and people around us, so I’m doing my part sending that message.”