A UFC fighter faced backlash after celebrating her victory by twerking in her opponent’s face, sparking debates among fans.
Ailín Pérez, a UFC fighter from Argentina, recently made headlines for her unusual celebration after winning a fight against Darya Zheleznyakova from Russia.
UFC star celebrates her victory by twerking in opponent’s face
This event took place in Paris, France, during a Women’s Bantamweight match on September 28, 2024.
While many people were excited about her victory, others felt that her actions were disrespectful.
The fight started with some controversy. Both fighters had issues with their weights during the check-in.
Zheleznyakova was under the required weight limit of 136 pounds, and Pérez was half a pound over.
This raised concerns among fans and commentators, especially since Pérez appeared to struggle on the scale.
However, when the fight began, she quickly turned the tide in her favor.
Pérez won the match in the first round by submission, forcing her opponent to give up.
After her victory, she celebrated in a very unexpected way. Instead of simply raising her hands in triumph, Pérez turned around and began twerking right in front of Zheleznyakova.
This surprising move caught the attention of everyone in the arena and quickly spread on social media.
Online reactions were mixed following the controversial incident
Some fans enjoyed her bold celebration. On the other hand, many viewers found her actions disrespectful.
Critics expressed their disappointment on various platforms. Many people felt such a celebration was inappropriate, especially towards an opponent who had just lost.
That was quite unsportsmanlike and pretty disrespectful. It blows my mind when athletes don’t know how to be humble these days, one user said.
And it was stankinnnn. Front row almost fainted, the second user joked.
Fair play lady. Made me laugh. Ok it isn’t exactly graceful but whatever. There’s bigger problems in the world than a bird shaking her thang in her opponents face, the third user commented.
Ladies and gentlemen this is what classless looks like. She may have won the fight but lost at self respect. Simply put, another said.
She twerks the same way she farts, someone wrote.
Despite the mixed reactions, Pérez remained unapologetic about her actions.
After the fight, she spoke to the media and expressed her happiness about participating in UFC Paris.
She stated that she wants to be the main attraction at every event she competes in.
“I’m super happy to be participating in UFC Paris and like I always say I want to be the protagonist of every show that I’m at for the fans and for the UFC,” Perez said.
When asked about her opponent, she said she appreciated the challenge but noted that she has faced tougher fighters in the past.
Pérez also dedicated her win to her coach, Javier Oshar Sabo.
She mentioned that her biggest dream is to help bring the UFC to Argentina.
“I’m already in the top 15 so I’m going to stop asking for anyone because everyone who I call out ends up running away anyways,” she added.
Pérez resolved: “So what I would want to do is finish the year in UFC Tampa in December or potentially even maybe if they have a card in Miami to do that because I consider myself a Floridian now that I’m living in the United States and that’s what I would like to do.”