Ahead of his return at UFC Abu Dhabi this weekend, unbeaten middleweight contender, Shara Magomedov has become the latest fighter to hit out at the Paris Olympic Games, claiming the highly-scrutinized opening ceremony was “humiliating”
Magomedov, who returns to action this weekend at UFC Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, takes on Polish veteran, Michal Oleksiejczuk over the course of three rounds in the pair’s co-main event clash.
Replacing a pairing between welterweight veterans, Vicente Luque, and former title challenger, Nick Diaz on just two weeks’ notice, Magomedov makes his third Octagon walk following a prior knockout win over Antonio Trocoli back in June at UFC Saudi Arabia earlier this summer.
Shara Magomedov rips “humiliating” Olympic Games ceremony
And following recent criticizm from current undisputed lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev who described the opening ceremony display as “disgusting” – Magomedov is the latest UFC star to voice his displeasure.
“Honestly speaking, I was in shock,” Shara Magomedov told Red Corner MMA. “I felt like they just tried to mock everybody. It rather looked like a meme than a real official ceremony. They really mocked people watching it. I used to be a big fan of the Olympics and collected memorabilia from Atlanta, Sydney, etc. I collected those Olympic memorabilia, and it’s still kept at my place. But now I feel like burning all these stuff down.”
“Now I have no regrets about not competing at this Olympics, because now the UFC is the real Olympics for me. Not the Olympics, which is just insanity in action,” Shara Magomedov explained. “Humiliating human values and all sports. It’s not about sports, it’s just a weird mix, mocking all the religions, all the moral values. Somehow, they don’t let Russia into the Olympics, but Israel is there competing.”