UFC star explains unexpected shoutout to musician Zach Bryan amid emotional abuse allegations from Barstool Sports' Brianna Chickenfry

A UFC fighter recently clarified the unanticipated shoutout to musician Zach Bryan, which came amid emotional abuse accusations from his ex-girlfriend, Brianna 'Chickenfry' LaPaglia.

In one of the more unexpected moments from UFC 309 last weekend, David Onama used his post-victory octagon interview following his dominant win over Roberto Romero to share that he was looking forward to attending one of Bryan's upcoming concerts in New York, which is set to take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn next month.

However, the 30-year-old Ugandan found himself embroiled in significant controversy after admitting on Sirius XM's Fight Nation that his management had asked him to give a shoutout to Bryan.

Onama openly confessed that he wasn’t even familiar with the country singer, so several fans speculated that the featherweight fighter's mention of Bryan was a calculated move to provoke LaPaglia, who was in attendance at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden.

After the situation escalated on social media, Onama issued a statement on X, explaining that he gave the shoutout after a promoter offered complimentary tickets to Bryan’s concert and as a gesture of support, noting that the American singer had previously shown generosity to his teammates:

"Hey guys, feel like this is getting blown out of proportion. A promoter offered me comp tickets to one of Zach Bryan’s concerts if I made a shout-out for his upcoming stadium shows. I did it because my teammates love Zach, and Zach always took care of them when he played in Denver. Zach did not reach out to me at all about this. I was simply supporting someone who always supported my team."

Check out David Onama's post below:

Bryan has garnered attention in recent weeks due to his public breakup with Barstool Sports content creator LaPaglia, who has since accused him of emotional abuse and manipulation during their relationship.

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Dave Portnoy blasts Zach Bryan after David Onama’s UFC 309 shoutout

Dave Portnoy recently voiced his support for his BFFs podcast co-host Brianna LaPaglia after David Onama admitted he had no prior knowledge of Zach Bryan despite giving the singer a shoutout during his post-fight interview at UFC 309.

The Barstool founder turned to TikTok and lambasted Bryan for allegedly using Onama as a pawn to mock LaPaglia:

"This small little 4-foot-8 f**king psychopath is that pathetic and that lost where they got to beg UFC guys for a shout-out just to try to rub it in Bri’s face? Like Brianna gives a f**k, we know you’re popular, Zach. You don’t need to f**king bribe people to say your name, you pathetic little man."

Check out Dave Portnoy's comments below:

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