Uloomi points 'finger' at Kang for starting scuffle

MMA fighter says his Chinese opponent is to blame for what transpired at presser

KARACHI: Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Uloomi Karim recently came off as a bit of a mischief-maker when he flipped China's Niu Kang Kang off during the press conference for their August 12 Rebel Fighting Championship bantamweight bout.

A dressed-up Uloomi, trudged up when called upon to pose for the cameras, but after a brief pause to strike a southpaw posture, he turned towards Kang, crouched a bit before giving him two one-finger salutes.

Moments later, he shoved Kang and nearly started a fight right there and then.

While some saw the funny side of the mini-altercation, others slammed Uloomi, branding him disrespectful and ‘a wannabe Conor McGregor’.

But Uloomi, in his defence, says he wasn't the one who started it and that he was only retaliating to Kang's provocations.



"Kang said something in Chinese followed by the words 'Pakistan' and then pointed his middle finger at me," the Islamabad native recalled in an interview with The Express Tribune. "The Chinese translator wasn't translating everything 100% so I couldn't tell what he was saying. He said "Pakistan" that I'm sure of, so that provoked me."

However, it doesn't matter who was at fault because the episode quite clearly worked, since the buildup of the Uloomi-Kang game stole the show.

The Rebel FC: Quest for Glory card has several more international fighters, including the main event between Brazil's Rodolfo Marques and Japan's Tatsunao Nagakura, but the most interesting matchup remains Uloomi and Kang's, all thanks to the happenings at their presser.

Uloomi is well aware though that the scuffle alone in front of the cameras and a bit of hype will mean nothing on fight night. Once locked inside the cage, his skill and grit alone will matter, for which he is working harder than ever under his brother-cum-coaches Ali Sultan and Ehtisham Karim.

"The training is better than before and I'm stronger than ever before," said Uloomi, who is coming out off of a one-year hiatus and hasn't fought since defeating India's Yadwinder Singh at WSOF Global Championship 3 last year.

But despite his time off, Uloomi remains confident of giving his nation an early 'Independence Day gift'. "God willing, this one will be an Independence Day gift for the nation!" he promised.