Russian female hockey player Maria Pugina has linked her involvement in a massive on-ice brawl to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, saying that she borrowed her fighting skills from him.
The 21-year-old Dinamo St. Petersburg defender posted a video of a huge scuffle involving players of the Russian Women’s Hockey League (WHL).
READ MORE: WATCH: Russian ice hockey player brawls with fan in shocking scenes at amateur match
The ice battle unfolded in a match between Dinamo and SKSO Yekaterinburg, with players of both teams throwing heavy punches at each other following a controversial episode next to SKSO’s net.
While the majority of brawl participants swarmed around the goal, Pugina and her fist-fight opponent from Yekaterinburg got into a wrestling match.
“I learnt that from Khabib,” Pugina commented on footage of the fight shared on her Instagram page.
The game, which ended 4-1 in favor of Dinamo, was resumed after tempers had finally calmed down.