This just happened during the featured preliminary bout at UFC Vegas 54 on Saturday.
The featured preliminary bout at UFC Vegas 54 on Saturday was marred by a bit of controversy. A cornerman of women’s flyweight fighter Andrea Lee was heard making these bigoted statements during a round break of their fight against Brazil’s Viviane Araujo.
— Sober Costa (@EraserBy) May 15, 2022
“That’s what they’re gonna do, they’re dirty f—king Brazilians. They’re gonna f—king cheat like that. Guess what? We came to f—k somebody up.”
The said individual is UFC bantamweight fighter Tony Kelley, and the exact moment he was referring to wasn’t clear. But it’s already drawn some negative attention from several fighters.
“That’s what they’re going to do”…Congratulations @ViviAraujoMMA obrigado por calar essa boca do treinador gringo @canalCombate
— CrisCyborg.com (@criscyborg) May 15, 2022
I don’t like to talk bad abt corners, not an easy job, but Lee corner need a lot study to do #UFCVegas54
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) May 15, 2022
135-pounder Adrian Yanez, who is slated to face Kelley in June, also had something to say.
Already wanted a finish, but now it’ll be more satisfying.
— Adrian Yanez (@yanezmma) May 15, 2022
Aaayyyyyy
But this finish will be on the house https://t.co/0jPcWRxjiQ— Adrian Yanez (@yanezmma) May 15, 2022
This isn’t the first time for Lee to have a significant other involved in such a controversy. In 2018, “KGB’s” then-husband and coach Donny Aaron had to issue an apology when photos of his Nazi tattoos came to light.
Ultimately, it was Araujo who emerged with the win via unanimous decision.