Fans convinced cupping is unlucky omen for fighters as Amir Khan is latest person to lose bout after treatment
CUPPING has become all the rage among fighters in recent years – so much so many of them have gone into their bouts sporting huge marks on their back.
The alternative medical treatment has become commonplace for athletes in several sports.
As part of the treatment, suction cups are placed on the subject’s skin for several minutes in a bid to remove toxins from the body.
The treatment is said to aid physical recovery by easing pain and reducing inflammation in the body.
It particularly helps with joint and muscular pain and helps expedite the recovery of soft tissue.
But fight fans are sceptical about the efficacy of the treatment due to a number of high-profile fighters losing after having it.
UFC superstar Conor McGregor underwent cupping therapy sessions ahead of his UFC 229 and UFC 257 defeats to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier in October 2018 and January 2021, respectively.
Former unified light-welterweight champ and Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan had numerous cupping sessions ahead of his grudge match with Kell Brook last weekend.
King Khan sported circular marks on his back in the domestic dust-up, which he lost via sixth-round TKO.
MMA fans jokingly began questioning cupping earlier this month after three fighters who recently had the treatment lost at UFC 271.
Nasrat Haqparast, Alexander Hernandez and Derrick Lewis all went into their latest outings with circular marks on their backs.
And the trio all suffered brutal losses, with Haqparast being bloodied up by Bobby Green for three straight rounds, Hernandez being submitted by Renato Moicano and Lewis being brutally knocked out by Tai Tuivasa.
A thread about the treatment was posted on MMA Reddit last week. And fans couldn’t help but mock the recovery aider.
One UFC fan tweeted: “My nana said acupuncture was the devil’s way of sneaking into your body.”
Another said: “It’s about as effective as any other ritual ‘medicine’ aka placebo effect.
“The thing is the placebo effect gets stronger the more fancy/complex the ritual gets.”
And another said: “Pure pseudoscience, just induces more trauma to the area. Straight up anti-recovery.”
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