Navid Afkari is an Iranian wrestler who has been sentenced for taking part in protests (TMZ)
Navid Afkari was executed by Iran despite international voices from the UFC and other bodies appealed for him to be spared
Iran executed wrestler Navid Afkari despite appeals from the UFC and other outlets to spare his lie.
Afkari was sentenced to death over the murder of a guard in 2018 during the anti-government protests from a couple of years back.
However, he had claimed he had been tortured to get his confession while his brothers are also in jail for the same alleged crime.
International bodies had called for Afkari to be spared while US President Donald Trump had also shared support for the wrestler.
UFC president Dana White posted a video asking for support for the Iranian wrestling star. However, all these pleas fell to deaf ears as Afkari was hanged inn Shiraz, according to Iranian media (h/t BBC).
There have been calls from the IOC (International Olympic Committee) too and they claimed Afkari’s execution was sad news.
While Navid Afkari never fought in the UFC or had a professional MMA record, he still seems to have resonated with the fighters on the promotion.
White claimed that this could have happened to any of his guys in an earlier video and wanted to stand up for them.
However, the UFC president was left shocked after the execution of the 27-year-old. White and the UFC’s official handle shared a post of Afkari:
UFC star Tatiana Suarez also shared the same image while another couldn’t speak during a post-fight interview.
Bobby Green, who was on the recent UFC Fight Night event couldn’t celebrate his victory over Alan Patrick.
Green claimed he was sad and shocked that someone had lost his life for protesting. He cut short his interview with Michael Bisping claiming his head wasn’t in the right place. Green further believed they were going to save the “kid” but things didn’t go as planned.
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