An Israeli mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter has earned victory over an antisemitic opponent who threatened to burn him like Hitler burned the Jews.
The Israeli, Rafael Aronov, earned a knockout victory over Khazakstan’s Ilyas Sadykov to become champion at the Israeli World Combat Championship on 9th March 2023.
Sadykov sent Aronov, who also works as a police officer in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva, private messages on Instagram that said “Im [sic] kill you b__ch” and “I will burn you like this guy.” The message was accompanied by a picture of Hitler. The Kazakh MMA fighter also asked Aronov “do you like German music?” and further insulted him with profanities days before their bout.
Aronov took a screenshot of the antisemitic threats and shared them Israeli media outlets, saying that the messages hit close to home since he has family members who survived the Holocaust, but he chose not to response to Sadykov’s messages once they became antisemitic and instead decided to answer him in the ring.
Trash talk between fighters is normal in the build up to fights, but the Aranov said Sadykov’s messages “crossed the line, honestly.”
A video with highlights from the fight is below:
Aronov said his championship win felt “like a double victory” because of the antisemitic abuse he received.
He still showed good sportsmanship and shook his opponent’s hand after the fight. On Instagram he explained, “it is always important to me both in victory and defeat to be sporty and shake hands after the battle with the opponent.”
“In this case, my opponent was revealed to be an anti-Semitic person who sent me a picture of Hitler about two weeks before the battle and told me that he would burn me like Hitler burned the Jews, there are lines that do not cross and there are things about which there is no forgiveness,” Aronov added.
For his part. Sadykov was unrepentant for his actions and accused the judges of corruption, calling them “fake”. He asked for a rematch in Kazakhstan.
Full fight:
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This year, we want to do more to bless Israel and the Jewish people.
We know that as we bless Israel this year, God will bless us, just as He promised in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Now is the time to bless Israel and the Jewish people.
