An Afghan MMA fighter choked the opponent who called him a 'terrorist,' impressed Dana White, and won a UFC contract
- Javid Basharat choked the Contender Series opponent who called him "terrorist" the day before.
- The Afghan MMA fighter impressed Dana White so much the UFC boss handed him a contract.
- White, though, said the UFC won't do anything about the comment. "Justice gets served."
MMA fighter Javid Basharat choked Oron Kahlon, the opponent who called him "terrorist" just one day before, in a win that impressed UFC boss Dana White so much he handed the Afghan athlete a contract.
Basharat appeared calm despite the slur, which happened during Monday's weigh-in ceremony ahead of Tuesday's bantamweight match under the Contender Series promotional banner in Las Vegas.
He said at the time that Kahlon would have wanted him to lose his cool. So he did the opposite, remaining poised throughout the week before channeling his aggression perfectly to defeat his opponent by third-round guillotine choke.
The win advanced Basharat's unblemished pro MMA record to 11 wins (five knockouts and six submissions).
Watch his latest victory right here:
-UFC (@ufc) October 27, 2021
'Welcome to the UFC, brother'
White could be seen smiling in the immediate aftermath of Basharat's victory, as the 26-year-old mounted the fence of the Octagon and gesticulated right in front of the company president.
Handing the fighter a UFC contract later, White called Basharat "mean" and "nasty."
He said: "The entire fight he was going for the finish. He destroyed him. He did whatever he wanted to do to him, whenever he wanted to do it."
On the pre-fight controversy that threatened to mar the Contender Series, White said: "It was definitely in his head, but it wasn't in his head - if you know what I mean.
"He came in and did what you do in these types of situations. Impressive. I was blown away by the entire performance. Welcome to the UFC, brother."
UFC won't do anything about Kahlon's inflammatory comment
Kahlon's "terrorist" comment was ugly, inflammatory, and unnecessary, but the UFC won't do anything about it as, according to White, "it got done tonight."
Speaking to reporters at the post-event press conference, White said: "This is the beautiful thing about the sport, and 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 … [but] justice gets served at the end of the day.
"When you have a situation like that, the best way to solve the problem is you fight, and you fight legally, you get paid to do it. And that's what happened tonight."
When asked if he ever concerns himself with an athlete who may cross the line during a pre-fight war of words, White simply said: "No."
He continued: "You can add that to the pile to nasty things that have been said in this sport. And not just this sport, but boxing, I'm sure Muay Thai, kickboxing - you name it. Mean things are said.
"In this insanely politically correct world we're living in, this is one place that is not."