Famed MMA coach Firas Zahabi has sparked controversy with his claims that men are diminishing their masculinity and testosterone levels by following and giving attention to provocatively dressed online models and influencers.
In a lengthy rant, Zahabi admonished men who follow social media accounts of influencer women. “It shows incredible weakness,” he stated. “You think ‘oh, this girl is showing her body, I’m going to follow her.’ So what do women do? They start posting more revealing pics to get more followers.”
Zahabi argues this creates a “race to the bottom” where women act increasingly provocative online to chase male attention and engagement. He believes by indulging this behavior, men are rewarding it and enabling an unhealthy dynamic that undermines respect.
“If you had access to this, she’d just be another girl,” Zahabi said of the logic behind men obsessively following explicit accounts out of desperation. “The hunger you are, the less access to this you must have.”
The MMA coach took it a step further, claiming that overconsumption of adult entrtainment can desensitize men to normal intimacy. “there’s no launch sequence…you’ve desensitized yourself.”
Zahabi advocates for periods of abstinence as a way to preserve male vitality. “The battery will recharge. The launch sequence will happen again and it will be desirable again.”
And he doesn’t exaclty recommend indulging yourself:
“In Islam, it’s Makruh. It’s which meaning not recommended. It’s not forbidden. It’s not strictly forbidden. It’s not halal either. It’s not permitted. But It’s Makruh. It’s like it’s a lesser of two evils. Like, because men they’re gonna have to release some energy. At one point. Like, there’s a balance of what I’m trying to say.””
His controversial comments touch on deeper themes around masculinity, dignity and respect between genders in the modern digital age. Whether one agrees or not, Zahabi’s suggestions for men to be more discerning about what they feed their attention towards has stoked debate.
