Tag: Oron Kahlon

UFC president Dana White OK with fighter’s bigoted ‘terrorist’ taunt toward Afghan opponent

According to UFC president Dana White, bigotry is an acceptable form of trash talk amongst fighters.

According to UFC president Dana White, bigotry is an acceptable form of trash talk amongst fighters. At least that was his response to a situation that unfolded during Monday’s Contender Series weigh-ins.

After Israel’s [autotag]Oron Kahlon[/autotag] and Afghanistan’s [autotag]Javid Basharat[/autotag] stepped on the scale for Tuesday night’s fight – Kahlon missed by three pounds – the two men came together for a ceremonial faceoff in which Basharat declined his opponent’s handshake. With UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby between them, Kahlon was heard calling Basharat a “terrorist.”

Asked Tuesday if Kahlon’s bigoted remark might have gone too far, even by MMA trash talk standards, White was clear that he didn’t have a problem with it.

“No, not in this business I don’t (worry that it’s too far),” White told reporters at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “If you look, you can add that to the pile of some pretty nasty things that have been said in this sport. And not just this sport – boxing, I’m sure muay Thai, kickboxing, you name it. Mean things are said.

“In this insanely politically correct world that we’re living in, this is one place that is not.”

Basharat went on to dominate Kahlon for nearly all three rounds at Dana White’s Contender Series 45 before submitting him with a guillotine choke with 48 seconds remaining. The performance was good enough to earn undefeated Basharat (11-0) a UFC contract.

As far as White is concerned, what happened to Kahlon in the cage is comeuppance enough for the UFC to not take any action.

“Are we gonna do anything? It got done tonight,” White said. “You know what I mean? It’s the beautiful thing about this sport. I say it all the time: This is not a nice sport. This is a very rough sport. We say a lot of mean things to each other, you know, and justice gets served at the end of the day.

“Listen, when you have a situation like that, the best way to solve the problem is you fight, and you fight legally. You get paid legally, and that’s what happened tonight.”

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Dana White’s Contender Series 45 faceoff turns ugly with ‘terrorist’ taunt

Israel’s Oron Kahlon clearly could be heard calling Afghanistan’s Javid Basharat a “terrorist” before their fight.

LAS VEGAS – A ceremonial faceoff turned ugly ahead of Dana White’s Contender Series 45 when Israel’s [autotag]Oron Kahlon[/autotag] called Afghanistan’s [autotag]Javid Basharat[/autotag] a “terrorist.”

Kahlon missed weight for the bantamweight clash moments earlier, coming in at 139 pounds. He was fined 20 percent of his purse, but the bout will go on as scheduled. The two were then paired together for a traditional pre-fight faceoff at the fighter hotel.

Basharat seemed to decline his opponent’s handshake as they neared, and the two then began speaking indistinctly to each other. After a brief faceoff, the two turned forward, and Kahlon clearly could be heard saying “terrorist,” which got a reaction from Basharat.

Basharat also confirmed on Instagram that he heard the comment, as well:

This p*ssy wanted a way out by missing weight by 3 pounds . I told him I’m gonna still whoop his arse, he then called me a terrorist 🤦🏻‍♂️ wanted a reaction again he wanted a way out 😂😂 unlucky for him I ain’t going no where ! , I’m waiting to see him tomorrow 😉❄️🐆
Booooo @oron_kahlon guys let him have it 😂

Relations between Afghanistan and Israel are non-existent. Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August, it has ruled out cooperating with Israel. Earlier this month, the last member of Afghanistan’s Jewish community left the country in the wake of the Taliban takeover.

Basharat (10-0) and Kahlon (16-0) are scheduled to meet at Tuesday’s Dana White’s Contender Series 45 event, which streams live on ESPN+ from the UFC Apex.

Check out their faceoff in the video above.

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