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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Martin Domin

MMA fighter presents opponent with bunch of flowers - then kicks him in the face

This is the shocking moment an MMA fighter presents his opponent with a bunch of flowers - and then kicks him the face.

The incident took place at a press conference for a notorious Russian promotion which prides itself on staging brawls long before the first bell.

And on this occasion, one fighter rises from his seat to approach another with the 'gift' - before attacking him at the last minute.

As has become customary, a brawl breaks out as security staff rush on stage to calm the situation.

But just as the two fighters are returning to their seats, the recipient of the flowers re-starts the fight and the two men are again separated.

The promotion - believed to be called Arena Fighting - holds its press conferences in front of a live audience.

It clearly encourages its fighters to fight one another outside the cage with most confrontations ending in mass brawls.

At another event, two fighters go as far as pull on a pair of gloves before scrapping - rather unconvincingly - on stage.

Another promotion, Epic Fighting, prides itself on hosting mismatch fights in the cage.

Would you accept flowers from an MMA fighter? Let us know in the comments section below

Previous bouts have seen men take on women, two-on-one match-ups and heavyweight fighters taking on featherweight rivals.

These also often end in members of the fighters' training teams entering the cage and taking part in the fight, forcing security to intervene.

The more conventional MMA promotions go to great lengths to ensure no such incidents occur.

Were they to, the fighters, and perhaps the promotion, would be fined by the regulatory body.

Indeed, last week, the UFC kept Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington apart during their face-offs following both the press conference and weigh-in for their grudge fight.

Colby went on to out-point his bitter rival over five rounds in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

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