Islam Makhachev was forced to inform fans to stop chanting for ‘John Pork’ after noticing considered one of his teammates in the group ultimately night’s press conference.
The previous lightweight champion got here face to face with Jack Della Maddalena within the Theatre at Madison Square Garden last night at the ultimate UFC 322 press conference. Makhachev was flanked by his entire training team, including newly-signed UFC star Magomed Zaynukov.
Zaynukov has turn out to be an infamous meme within the MMA world resulting from a viral video where fans misheard Makhachev pronouncing his nickname ‘Chanco’ as ‘John Pork’. It has led to quite a few comical moments from fans in the game, and clearly irks the unbeaten Russian.
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Islam Makhachev pleads with fans to stop ‘John Pork’ chants at UFC 322 press conference
The overwhelming popularity of the Zaynukov ‘John Pork’ meme is deeply rooted in Gen Z’s irony-laden humor, and can be quite astutely Western in its cultural sensibility. As such, the likes of Islam Makhachev and even Zaynukov himself appear to be completely baffled by the humor behind the name.
Zaynukov has made no secret of his disdain for the nickname, and Makhachev commonly tells fans to stop calling him after the cartoon pig. Last night was no different as loud chants overtook the famed Latest York venue.
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“Guys, he likes more ‘Chanco’, not ‘John Pork’,” Makhachev laughed. “He likes ‘Chanco’, please call him ‘Chanco’.” He looked as if it would find some humor within the annoyance that the ordeal caused his teammate, on whom he heaped praise after the very fact.
“He’s an incredible fighter, he’s an incredible guy. Please call him ‘Chanco’ not ‘John Pork’, he doesn’t like ‘John Pork’. He’s the guy who has helped me with all my camps recently so he’s going to be an incredible lightweight.”
Why do fans call Magomed Zaynukov ‘John Pork’?
The meme of calling Magomed Zaynukov ‘John Pork’ originated after a misunderstanding during a video where legendary flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson visited Makhachev’s training camp.
Makhachev introduced the lesser-known members of his team to Johnson, including multiple-time Muay Thai champion Zaynukov, whom he called ‘Chanco’. Along with his thick accent it vaguely gave the impression of ‘John Pork’, which caused fans to collectively get hysterical.
John Pork is a long-standing meme of a cartoon pig who’s seen in Tik Tok videos and Instagram reels supposedly ‘calling you’. He was later supposedly killed by a rival named ‘Tim Cheese’ and there’s hours of supposed lore across the character.
Zaynukov was signed to the UFC earlier this 12 months after winning on Dana White’s Contender series. And after the fight, he begged fans to stop referring to him as ‘John Pork’, which seems to have only egged them on more.