Mounir Lazzez’s win was overshadowed by an eyebrow-raising post-fight tribute.
The UFC’s welterweight champion won unanimously over Ange Loosa on Saturday in UFC Vegas 51. He then went on to talk about Daniel Kinahan after the fight. Kinahan is an alleged crime boss who was recently sanctioned by the U.S. government, with officials offering a $5 million reward for information that can assist in the disruption of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group.
Lazzez was questioned about Kinahan’s connection when he spoke to media backstage after his win.
” That man is friend and adviser,” Lazzez stated. He was the one that picked me up when I fell down in life. He is a true man of his word, and he taught me the meaning of real friendship, family, and real love. It’s someone I cannot thank him enough for where I am today and who I am today.
“He teached me the real manner, he teached me how to be responsible in my family and my friends and my close ones. That’s why I said that. To him .”
, all the credit and shoutouts
Lazzez was then asked whether he knew that Kinahan had been sanctioned. He denied knowing about the situation.
“No, I don’t know that,” Lazzez said, later adding, “I think I’m here to entertain people and I say I give the credit to whoever deserves credit. I’m not involved in this kind of stuff and I don’t know about it and I will investigate how it is and how to go.”
Lazzez didn’t elaborate on his professional connections to Kinahan. However, he had previously fought in the Probellum promotion. Probellum, a company involved in the management of MMA fighters or boxers, has a relationship with MTK Global (a promotion founded by Kinahan). MTK claims that Kinahan has stopped working in 2017.). On Saturday, Probellum released a statement denying that Kinahan had any executive role in their organization and vowed to avoid any future association with him.
Regarding the possibility of a shoutout on ESPN legitimizing Kinahan, Lazzez again only referred to Kinahan as “a friend.”
“For me, it’s a simple thing,” Lazzez said. It’s just a friend, and I only meet him to get advice. He helped me throughout my career.
” I don’t really follow this type of news,” he said. He said, “I don’t focus on this kind of news. I concentrate on my family. I entertain people, and that’s the most important .”
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Lazzez then proceeded to answer a pair of subsequent questions about Kinahan by asking if there were any questions specifically pertaining to his UFC Vegas 51 fight instead.
