"It's his personal opinion" - Laura Sanko speaks up for Khabib Nurmagomedov after his controversial comments on ring girls

Laura Sanko (left) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (right) [Image credits: @laura_sanko on Instagram]

Khabib Nurmagomedov landed himself in the middle of a controversy when he claimed that ring girls do not serve a purpose in the sport of MMA.

“Ring girls are the most unnecessary people in mma, what function to they bring? You turn on the tv and you see it’s the second, why are they walking there” pic.twitter.com/q0uWDk7J1F
— Manolo 🥃 (@manny_mma_) August 23, 2021

The Dagestani's comments brought out reactions from MMA personalities like Michael Bisping and Sean O'Malley, who both took the side of the ring girls.

MMA journalist Laura Sanko is the latest personality to share her thoughts on Khabib Nurmagomedov's controversial remarks.

In an interview with James Lynch, Sanko defended 'The Eagle'. She said that 'The Eagle' is entitled to his opinion.

"I think it's a cultural difference...and I think we have to accept that that is a very valid opinion for him to have and it's his personal opinion and he was talking about why he's not gonna have them at his promotion...that's within his right to do so... If he had specifically attacked our ring card girls or any ring card girl by name, I definitely would jump to their defense. I think it's more the idea for him, it's not just something culturally that he finds valid and I respect that about him. I think he's perfectly fine and within his rights to talk about that," said Laura Sanko.

Watch Laura Sanko jump to Khabib's defense in the video below:

Laura Sanko believes Khabib Nurmagomedov has a lot of respect for women

Laura Sanko doesn't believe the narrative that Khabib Nurmagomedov does not respect women is correct. She further told James Lynch:

"I don't appreciate the line of thinking that he does not respect women because when you haven't grown up in a Muslim culture, the respect for women looks different, I think, than maybe our American eyes expect it to. It takes a different form. I know he has a lot of respect for the women that he trains with. I know he has a lot of rspect for other women champions like Valentina [Shevchenko]...the culture he grew up in, he respects women so much, he wants them to be presented in a certain way."

Sanko concluded by saying that Khabib Nurmagomedov would not have a problem with women doing commentary. She believes the Dagestani is receiving too much backlash for his comments.