UFC CEO Dana White was quick to act on disgusting and anti-semitic comments from fighter Bryce Mitchell.
Hours after comments surfaced where Mitchell said what most would consider unthinkable in 2025—claiming that nazi Adolf Hitler was a “good guy” when he killed more than six million Jewish people during World War II—White strongly condemned the featherweight contender.
And then… Wait, sorry. Checking my notes here… That’s actually all that happened.
No release, no suspension. Hell, not even those performative training courses that they put people through after making ignorant comments. Nothing.
Mitchell’s punishment for comments that—at the very least are repulsive, insensitive and anti-semitic, and at worst make him a nazi, something that has no place in any society—is that UFC’s White thinks he’s dumb. How harsh.
“I’ve heard a lot of dumb, ignorant s*** in my day, this is probably the worst,” White said. “Hitler is one of the most disgusting and evil human beings to walk the face of the earth. Anyone that even tries to take an opposing position is a moron.”
When you condemn unacceptable comments like Mitchell made but take no further action, this is what you’re saying: You can be an idiot, racist, or even a nazi. UFC’s CEO might not like you, but he’s willing to let you represent his fight promotion. Because in the UFC, “free speech” means freedom from consequences.
It wasn’t always this way. In 2013, UFC indefinitely suspended Nate Diaz due to a homophobic social media post. A year later, the promotion signed but then released Michael Imperato before a single fight due to past homophobic and racist comments surfacing.
But in recent years, Mitchell’s case has just been one of the many where the promotion’s hands-off approach has made the sport a national embarrassment.
Early last year, then-middleweight champion Sean Strickland went on a homophobic and transphobic tirade at a UFC press event, at one point referring to being trans as a mental illness. The moment caught mainstream press attention, including a piece from the biggest news organization in Canada. White didn’t care.
“Free speech … People can say whatever they want and people can believe whatever they want,” White replied later in the week.
Or what about that time Colby Covington asked Nigerian-born Kamaru Usman if he got a “smoke signal” call from his “little tribe?” “We don’t muzzle anybody here,” White replied.
If you’re wondering: “How did we get here?” There’s your answer. UFC’s willingness to allow any speech, no matter how intolerant, has made it so fighters feel comfortable enough to express love for Hitler. It is a cultural issue within the UFC and the sport of MMA in general that such radical and outright irresponsible beliefs are allowed to be echoed without the slightest pushback.
Honest question: Do you not feel ashamed as an MMA fan? When your friends, family, and co-workers—who all see you as the MMA expert in their circle—see this latest story, because trust me, they will, does it not feel embarrassing that they’ll immediately think of you?
MMA was once seen as a violent show for mindless lunkheads. It has gained respect within the sports world over the past few decades and has become recognized as an actual competition. But it now battles a new perception issue: That it’s the sport for fascists.
MMA was able to disprove over time that it’s not a sport of needless violence, but an actual competition which requires raw talent and smarts combined. But as time has gone on, it’s gotten harder to prove it’s not a show for the intolerant and ignorant of our society.
White calling Mitchell an idiot does nothing. Thousands of others did the same on Thursday, what’s one more person? Realistically, UFC took no action on the featherweight’s latest comments.
It’s an embarrassing moment for MMA. But, sadly a type of moment the sport has grown accustomed to. The promotion’s careless attitude toward such insensitive and hateful comments is why we’ve seen situations like this many times before, and why we’re likely to see it once again quite soon.
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