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Be it ahead of a fight or otherwise, UFC fighters often get into heated arguments with their rivals. There is also the tactic of mental warfare, where fighters like Conor McGregor try to get under the skin of their opponents. These acts are often swept under the carpet as routine verbal wars waged to hype up fights.
However, a few times, the choice of words used by the UFC fighters gets them into trouble. Be it statements that are politically or socially insensitive or of racial nature, UFC fighters often pay a heavy price for speaking indiscriminately in the media.
Here, we list 5 UFC fighters who got into trouble for passing racial remarks:
#5 - Marcelo Rojo
Brandon Moreno's cornerman, Marcelo Rojo, stirred some controversy after posting racist images of Deiveson Figueiredo on social media. The incident happened just before UFC 263, where 'The Assassin Baby' was supposed to take on 'Deus da Guerra' for the flyweight title.
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Marcelo Rojo, who made his UFC debut in 2021 against Charles Jourdain, uploaded a photo of Deiveson Figueiredo with a monkey filter on his Instagram. The post stirred controversy as Brazilians are racially discriminated against by being referred to as monkeys.
Marcelo 'Pitbull' Rojo, who is an Argentinian, mentioned that he did not intend his post to be seen as a racial remark as he was not aware of Brazilian history. Upon finding out about the post, Figueiredo's manager and coach, Wallid Ismail, called for "every racist" to be "banned from the sport."
Rojo posted an apology on his Instagram page in Portuguese for his unintended racial remarks. He said:
"I apologize to everybody, to people I don’t even know. Wallid is making this bigger than it is, I was just was putting filters on the [Instagram] live. I put a lot to all the fighters, I use the baby Yoda, the moustache filter, the monkey, on every fighter in the press conference, we were joking around… Then [Figueiredo] push Brandon and we start shouting, and someone screenshot the live and pass me the image. I upload it for fun, to make jokes to get [Figueiredo] more angry than he already is, but not to make this a racist thing."
Brandon Moreno, who defeated Figueiredo at UFC 263 to become the new flyweight champion, commented on his cornerman's alleged racial remarks. He said:
"I feel so bad for that because I really am an ambassador of the love in the world and that’s happening in my team. I was a little bit angry at first, but, I mean, everybody makes a mistake. And in this era with cancellation, you never give the opportunity to the people to learn, to make some progress. So it was a mistake and in the name of my team, I apologize. It is what it is. We try to learn to make some progress in this new era."
#4 - Alex Nicholson
Alex Nicholson is a multi-division MMA fighter who has fought for different promotions, including the UFC and PFL. He fought in the UFC middleweight division for two years and faced Jack Hermansson in his last bout before moving out of the organization.
Alex Nicholson cornered Mike Perry for his debut at UFC 202 in 2016. Before the fight, Nicholson was caught on the mic making racial comments against Perry's opponent, Hyun Gyu Lim. The UFC addressed the racially derogatory remarks made by Nicholson and warned him of disciplinary action.
'Spartan' was caught saying:
"He can't even open his motherf---ing eyes, boy."
The UFC issued a statement condemning Nicholson's racial remarks, warning Alex Nicholson "that any future instances of this nature could result in a suspension from competition, or termination of his contract." Nicholson took to social media to apologize for his racial remarks, mentioning that it was not his intention to come off as discriminatory.
Mike Perry, who won the fight against Hyun Gyu Lim via first round knockout, defended his teammate two days after the incident. Speaking on MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Perry said:
"What did he say? People may have taken it wrong. I think people's opinion on this has been blown way out of proportion and they need to calm down."
#3 - Mike Perry
Mike 'Platinum' Perry has often found himself in the headlines, but mainly for the wrong reasons. The UFC welterweight fighter has gotten himself in trouble quite a few times after directing racial comments at people.
A video of Mike Perry went viral in 2020 where the UFC fighter was punching an older man in a casino and using the N-word as a racial slur. No charges were filed and Perry was not arrested. However, he was suspended from fighting in the UFC until he sought professional help.
The UFC issued a statement, stating:
"The conduct displayed by Perry is not reflective of that of our organization. Perry apologized for his behavior and acknowledged he was disappointed with himself that his actions may have reflected poorly on UFC. He further acknowledged that he believes he has some issues related to alcohol abuse and has informed UFC that he has committed to immediately seek professional treatment, including substance and behavioral counseling."
Mike Perry has drawn flak quite a few times from MMA fans for his racial remarks and gestures. In 2018, 'Platinum' also tried to justify using the N-word by explaining that he was 2% African. He has fought twice since his Texas incident but has lost in both outings.
#2 - Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor has picked up ill-repute for being frequent and consistent with racial remarks. He is known to be one of the most disrespectful UFC fighters when it comes to making racially insensitive comments, jokes and allusions. Be it Jose Aldo, Floyd Mayweather, or Khabib Nurmagomedov, 'The Notorious' has always used racial remarks.
The former UFC double-champ has described Latino fighters as "cockroaches" and threatened "to turn their favelas into sweatshops." During his media tour ahead of the 'Money Fight' against Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor told the boxing legend to "dance for me boy." As a result, he got into quite a bit of trouble and then had to defend his racial remarks.
Floyd Mayweather slammed Conor McGregor for his comments during their encounter in 2017. 'Money' told Stephen A. Smith:
"I just didn't like it when he called us monkeys. I think that was totally disrespectful."
When faced with allegations of passing racial remarks against Floyd Mayweather and his entourage, 'The 'Notorious' defended himself by saying:
"If he feels disrespected, he's an idiot, and f**k him as well. I think it's f**king ridiculous. I don't understand it. I know who I am as a person. I didn't really hit right. Most realistic people can see that. He's trying to sway something by (saying I'm) disrespecting women. I didn't talk about his past. If anything, it was a dirty play on his behalf. You play like that it's a b**ch move and you know that, but it's done now and lets gets ready to fight."
#1 - Colby Covington
Colby Covington made waves in MMA circles. He made distasteful racial remarks after defeating Tyron Woodley at UFC Vegas 11 in 2020. The No.1 UFC welterweight fighter commented on 'The Chosen One' using the platform to advocate for the Black Lives Matter movement. 'Chaos' said:
"He (Tyron Woodley) is standing up for lifelong criminals. The Black Lives Matter is a complete sham. It’s a joke. They’re taking these people that are complete terrorists. They’re taking these people that that are criminals."
Colby Covington went on with his personal attack on Woodley, choosing to make generic counter-attacks to discredit the Black Lives Matter movement.
"He (Woodley) is a communist. He’s a Marxist. He stands for criminals. He hates America, and that’s why he got broke tonight."
Colby Covington even passed racial remarks against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, an MMA fighter of Nigerian descent. According to ESPN, referring to African culture, Covington made racial remarks and provoked Usman by speaking about his "little tribe" and "smoke signals," according to ESPN.
Many endorsement brands like Reebok and Monster Energy shunned Colby Covington's racial remarks and expressed their solidarity with all races. UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya also slammed Colby Covington's insensitive comments and said:
"This guy [Covington] has directly insulted my culture, my brother and many other cultures, and no one says anything, but it just shows you a mirror."
Watch Dana White's reaction to Colby Covington's racial remarks:
