Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
UFC President Dana White doesn’t believe Israel’s Oron Kahlon crossed the line when he called Afghanistan’s Javid Basharat a “terrorist” during their pre-fight weigh-in.
White commented on Kahlon’s remarks Tuesday night while addressing the media after Basharat defeated Kahlon by submission on Dana White Contender Series (h/t Simon Samano of MMA Junkie):
MMA Junkie @MMAjunkie
Dana White says Oron Kahlon got his comeuppance for calling Javid Basharat a “terrorist.”<br><br>”In this insanely politically correct world we’re living in, this is one place that is not.”<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/DWCS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#DWCS</a> | Full video: <a href=”https://t.co/y23imQsM3y”>https://t.co/y23imQsM3y</a> <a href=”https://t.co/tS3RqskIYQ”>pic.twitter.com/tS3RqskIYQ</a>
“No, not in this business I don’t [worry that it’s too far],” White said. “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 we’re living in, this is one place that is not.”
Kahlon’s comments came Monday after he missed weight by three pounds. Basharat refused to shake Kahlon’s hand, and Kahlon was subsequently heard referring to Basharat as a “terrorist.”
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani said he hoped Kahlon would apologize for the comment.
Kahlon was still allowed to compete on Tuesday’s card despite missing weight, but he struggled mightily against Basharat.
Basharat forced him to submit to a guillotine choke in the third round after a dominant performance. As a result, Basharat improved to 11-0 and earned a UFC contract.
While White didn’t have an issue with what Kahlon said, he did say Tuesday that “justice” was served with Basharat picking up the victory.
White noted that MMA is “not a nice sport” and suggested that his preference is for any issues between competitors to be settled inside the cage.
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