Does Khabib's openly expressing his Muslim faith bother you/diminish his marketability?

A fighter thanking God for giving him the strength to beat the hell out of his opponent is just absurd to me no matter which deity you're praying to

And by the way... there is such minimal difference between Christianity and Islam anyway I really fail to see the major difference other than one is spoken in English and one in spoken in Arabic... they're both Abrahamic religions, they both worship the same God and they both just recite slightly different versions of the same made up stories.
 
No. It is only slightly annoying, but not because he is Muslim in particular, I think Christian fighters are annoying too.
 
Nope. Each to their own.

If he starts handing out leaflets at the weigh ins though, my opinion could change
 
I don't like it because it affects him professionally and he has to take 3 months off a year for Ramadan starve fest. While already being inactive and injury prone. That's the one thing I hate about it. The Jesus followers don't have This problem. That's why I don't like Khabibs faith.
 
It doesn't bother me any more than the jesus fighters thanking god all the time for all the hard work they've done themselves.
 
I dont get the impression that Khabib is particularly focused on spreading his faith or declaiming his religion, especially compared to some fighters like Yoel Romero, personal - priest era Fedor or Benson Henderson, to name some of the more extreme examples. Most of the stuff he says like Alhamdulillah or Inshallah are really more figures of speech, like how Western people would say "Thank god that worked" or "God knows why I didnt ..." .
 
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frandie2b said:
Muhammad Ali was a dedicated muslim too, didn't prevent him from being one of the most popular fighter ever.
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I guess the only difference is the context of the time...

Islam wasn't regarded in anywhere near the same way as it is in modern times. Hell the US used to fund the Mujahideen against the Soviets. Back then, communism was the main enemy as far as the US was concerned and Irish Catholic terrorism was the focal point in the UK... the religion of Islam was of minimal concern back then.
 
I doesn't bother me anymore than the spackers who thank God and Jesus after every fight...

Who cares which version of the fairytale he believes.
 
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Evenflow80 said:
Now I should preface by saying I am a Muslim myself, but very liberal and don't follow much of its rules besides no pork or drinking, but I'm hardly devout or even in the middle.

That being said, I am also not blind to the current political/social climate and I do wonder if someone like Khabib hurts his marketability and potential star power by being so openly devout. The guys interviews are full of Islamic phrases and he famously takes Ramadan off. (which I understand, ramadan is hard on the body). In your opinion, does him being a Muslim make him less likeable in your view? If you don't like Khabib, is him being a devout Muslim the reason why or one of the reasons why?

Not looking to flame, start a race war, or anything like that, just genuinely curious how people view an openly Muslim UFC champ.

Thanks
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Yes, it does, but just like Mayweather, western audiences may pay for tickets/PPVs in the hopes to see him lose.

There's little cheers for him from the audience during his enterances, announcement of his name before fights, or announcements of his victory after the fight, or during his post-fight interviews.

Probably, and I say this objectively, because his name, appearance and accent reminds western audiences of two cultures we're not too friendly with - Russian and Middle-Eastern.

Can he get over this perception and become a popular fighter? Who knows, but many fighters before him have.

But after Khabib beats McGreggor (which is the most likely outcome), his perception will either be massively famous - or infamous.
 
Americans love the man above, so does Brazilians... Khabib's no different.
 
MikalP said:
This is a very weird example to use. Muhammad Ali being an open muslim created HUGE hurdles for him in white America. You could even argue that it wasn't until he was less public about it that he became so popular.
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It's really not as he was a global superstar as Muhammad Ali but Cassius Clay wasn't.
 
MikalP said:
This is a very weird example to use. Muhammad Ali being an open muslim created HUGE hurdles for him in white America. You could even argue that it wasn't until he was less public about it that he became so popular.
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I think this was more due to his out-spoken support for civil rights than the specific religion he chose. I don't think many at that time really knew what the nation of Islam was... they just saw the black guy speaking out against injustice. That was his main hurdle in my view. The status quo of jim crow laws.
 
Not any worse than said fighter giving thanks to God during their post fight interview. I personally don't mind it at all, if they're a good fighter than they're a good fighter. I just don't believe that during an interview or any other televised scenario that directly follows a violent battle is necessary the place to be praising any specific deity, unless they are questioned about their faith or religion.

I just seriously doubt that it was God's plan that you march into the octagon and beat a dude's face off.
 
Khabib isn't the type at all to force his religion down your throat or be super public about his religious or political beliefs, so I like that about him. Yoel Romero will call out a whole nation on being wrong and say they should be a certain way about his personal beliefs in God and stuff like that turns me off fighters.
 
It bothers me a lot. But Weidman, Romero and other Christian fighters can also be cringey.
 
Congo66 said:
It's really not as he was a global superstar as Muhammad Ali but Cassius Clay wasn't.
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A very good point. It wasn't actually until after his reform to Islam that he became a global superstar.

And the reason he became a global superstar was because other parts of the world didn't perceive him with the same negative connotations as right-wing Americans of that era.
 
I think it's pretty funny because it bothers people, but they can't openly complain since they'd have to complain about the numerous vocal Christian fighters too.
 
Flex Plexico said:
Doesn’t bother me


but I am sometimes concerned with how Islam never went through a proper reformation like Christianity and does include some blatantly shitty ideas/values for modern society
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this is part of the religion though. This is how the people live. Many do not want a "reformation" because they are fine with the way it was.
 
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