MMA fighter Ali Heibati has been hit with a lifetime ban after an unprovoked attack on a ring girl ahead of a fight.
Heibati, an Iranian competing in the Hard Fighting Championship promotion, inexplicably kicked out at the ring girl named Maria as she entered the cage to signal the start of his bout with Arkady Osipyan in Moscow on Friday.
As Maria turned her back to leave the cage, Heibati lashed out at her. The shocked ring girl confronted Heibati, who was reprimanded by the referee, but the incident cast a shadow over the fight that followed.
Osipyan made light work of his clearly agitated opponent, knocking Heibati out with little more than 30 seconds remaining in the first round after landing a series of strikes on the ground.
As Osipyan walked away towards his team following his win, Heibati astonishingly attacked him with a series of cheap shots from behind before being dragged away by officials.
Incredibly, Heibati was allowed to remain in the cage at this point, as the result was formally announced.
Putting on his glasses, the clearly still furious fighter took to the microphone and launched a high kick out towards a commentator, once again letting his blind rage get the better of him.
After the bout, Heibati took to social media to apologise to the ring girl.
“Hello everyone. This is for Maria. I didn’t act right with her,” he wrote.
“The reason was that before the MMA fight there were a lot of fistfights. I stayed there in the cage and I just wanted to go out and fight.
“I was tense and, as most understand, emotions flourish in the fight, so before the fight I acted badly towards Maria.
“I want to publicly apologise to her. I am a married man, so I respect the female gender.
“She was doing her job and I, after the fight, didn’t admit my guilt either, because they also hit me on the head. Tell Maria that I am sorry.”
His apology was not enough to save his job, however, with the Hard Fighting Championship slapping him with a lifetime ban.
Heibati has previously fought in boxing and kickboxing. As per Tapology, this was his first professional MMA bout.
