'Loathsome' Khabib Nurmagomedov Condemned By PETA For 'Wrestling With Chained Bear'

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, better known as PETA, have blasted Khabib Nurmagomedov by saying that wrestling with a chained bear is "loathsome."

The Russian UFC star, 30, made his sensational return to the octagon on 7th September against Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 and successfully retained the lightweight championship.

Khabib has become known for wrestling bears as UFC fans have seen videos of him fighting the animal during his childhood.

And another video showed the lightweight champ playfully wrestling against a chained bear when he returned to Dagestan ahead of his fight with Poirier.

But PETA have slammed the Dagestan superstar's treatment of animals and issued a complaint to UFC after the video of him wrestling a brown bear emerged online.

Elisa Allen, the UK director for PETA, told Business Insider: "Wrestling with a chained bear is loathsome behavior that shows an utter lack of respect for and consideration of who these animals are.

"In the wild, bears roam across vast territories, foraging, swimming, digging in the dirt, climbing trees, searching for a mate and expressing other essential, natural types of behaviour.

"Those used in Russia for 'boxing,' 'dancing' or other archaic forms of entertainment are typically torn from their mothers as cubs, chained, caged, muzzled, beaten and deprived of everything that's meaningful to them.

"PETA urges Mr Nurmagomedov to stick to wrestling with willing human opponents."

Khabib's coach, Javier Mendez, uploaded the controversial video of the undefeated MMA fighter with the bear, who he used to wrestle against as a child.

Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov has previously said that a "child always wants his father to see what his son is capable of."

Khabib's father continued: "It is a pity that there was nothing more interesting when he was younger.

"In the end, this was a test of character more than exercise."

Khabib had demanded that he should be placed at the top of the UFC pound-for-pound rankings after his stunning victory over former interim champ Poirier.

But UFC released its updated pound-for-pound ratings and the MMA star remained in second place behind UFC legend Jon Jones.

Who should Khabib face next?

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Featured Image Credit: Javier Mendez/Khabib Nurmagomedov

Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, UFC News, MMA News, UFC, eagle, MMA

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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