In the late afternoon today in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates a completely unexpected interaction took place at the UFC 308 press conference.
A random crowd member said he is a 9-0 fighter from Tajikistan and asked to fight for Dana White, who was hosting the presser.
Dana beckoned him, shook his hand, and sent him backstage, with the rest left unknowable to live viewers.
Now, courtesy of Michael Babcock from TMZ Sports, we have more information.
Just talked to @danawhite (right before @powerslap 9 went live) about Dorobshokh Nabotov, the 7-0 fighter who used the #UFC308 presser to ask for a contract.Dana says 25-year-old Nabotov will fight on Lookin’ for a Fight in South Korea, w/ DW watching live from the arena. If he… https://t.co/8MFZjTugEi
— michael j. babcock (@mikejbabcock) October 24, 2024
Dana White revealed that he is going to South Korea for an episode of his show “Lookin’ for a Fight” on December 14th, at an show of the Korean Zombie’s, the former UFC featherweight title contender.
Dorobshokh Nabotov turned out to be 7-0 according to Tapology, the record-keeping website which may not count fights as professional MMA bouts for a variety of reasons. 7-0 is impressive.
However, the Tajik fighter only has three finishes and will need to do more than win a dull fight in order to win the contract, surely.
If he does, it will be a great story.
