She wanted to shake hands with a Russian. This is how he reacted

An unusual situation occurred at the anniversary gala of one of the largest MMA organizations in the world. During Bellator 300, three championship fights took place. After the conclusion of the final bout, the winners of the main fights of the evening were invited to take a commemorative photo. During the short ceremony, Usman Nurmagomedov surprised many MMA fans.

On the night of October 7 to October 8 Eastern Time, the Bellator 300 gala took place. In the main event, there was a men's championship bout in the up to 154.7 lb category. The current champion, Usman Nurmagomedov (a last name that is certainly well-known to MMA fans - the Bellator fighter is a cousin of the famous Khabib) defeated Brian Primus by unanimous decision, once again defending his belt.

After the conclusion of the face-off, the organizers decided to organize a photo session with the winners of the most important fights of the evening. In addition to Usman, the heroines of two women's face-offs were invited into the octagon - the champion in the 145 pound category, Chris Cyborg, and Liz Carmouche, who fights in the 125 pound category.

That's when a bit of an awkward situation occurred. As Nurmagomedov approached the two female fighters, he said a few words to the closer one, Cyborg, while placing his hand on his heart, and a moment later he made a negating gesture with his hands. The fighter responded to the whole situation with a smile, slightly raising her hands.

A moment later, Carmouche reached out toward Nurmagomedov, who probably didn't hear the Russian's words. The cousin of the legendary Khabib repeated the gesture he had made earlier, again placing his hand on his heart. Cyborg also responded, lightly pushing away Carmouche's hand. She also took the whole situation calmly, smiling and nodding in the direction of Nurmagomedov.  

Many MMA fans began wondering why the Russian did not shake hands with Cyborg and Carmouche. It turns out this is related to religious issues. Nurmagomedov is a practicing Muslim and in accordance with the commandments of his faith, he avoids physical contact with women. For this very reason, he refrained from shaking hands with the female fighters, showing them respect by placing his hand over his heart.

In the context of the entire situation, it should be emphasized that both Cyborg and Carmouche did not feel offended by the Russian's behavior, which is evidenced by the smiles on their faces.