Tinfoil Fighters: A comprehensive list of MMA athletes spreading unfounded conspiracy theories 

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

Karim Zidan delves into the long list of MMA fighters and coaches that have used their platforms to share conspiracy theories. 

Fuelled by the coronavirus pandemic, subsequent lockdown, and the ongoing political tension in the lead-up to the presidential elections in November, the past few months have seen a noticeable trend of MMA fighters peddling conspiracy theories.

A conspiracy theory is defined as a theory that “rejects the standard explanation for an event and instead credits a covert group or organization with carrying out a secret plot.” In some cases, they presume that some social and political events are little more than deceptive plots that are either unknown to the general public or are designed to mislead them. Such theories include QAnon (designated a domestic terrorism threat by the FBI), false flag operations (such as Sandy Hook, which has been widely discredited), anti-semitism theories (such as George Soros conspiracies), Flat Earth, and anti-vaccination.

This article will serve as a comprehensive list of all the MMA fighters that are currently using their online platforms to spread conspiracy theories.

Current UFC fighters

Jorge Masvidal

Back in May, UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal shared a false quote attributed to Kurt Cobain, which predicted Donald Trump’s presidency along with the hashtag “QAnon”.

When asked to comment on the hashtag and the fake quote, Masvidal shared his COVID-19 skepticism before claiming that he posted the QAnon reference to ‘provoke thought.’

“Do I agree with everything that’s on this website? No,” Masvidal said. “And why I did that was just to spark talk. I’m not affiliating myself with QAnon. Like I said, I was provoking thought there. Like, ‘Hey, this is some crazy stuff. What’s going on here? Check this out.’ That’s it. I’m not telling nobody to believe that word for word. All I’m telling everybody, anybody listening to me, do your own research, man. Do your own homework. That’s it. That’s all I’m saying.”

Jared Cannonier

Beyond his belief of harnessing the powers of rock crystals like pyrite, UFC middleweight Jared Cannonier’s twitter account is filled with conspiracy theories about QAnon, Antifa, Bill Gates, the George Floyd killing, Freemasonry, and the deep state. He referred to former U.S. President Barack Obama as a “lying ass Freemason” before signing off with the phrase “death to pedophiles.”

Here is a round-up of a handful of his tweets (h/t BE’s Alex Scaffidi)

Spike Carlyle

On July 3rd, 2020, UFC lightweight Spike Carlyle shared anti-Semitic propaganda on his social media, including a post that claimed Jewish people were the “real invisible enemy” and not the ongoing pandemic.

Carlyle eventually removed that particular image and provided this statement to Bloody Elbow’s Alex Scaffidi.

“I’m Anti-Zionist, Freemasonry, and Jesuitism,” Carlyle said. “I didn’t read the ‘[F—k] Israel’ hashtags. I’m not an anti-Semite and have Jewish blood in me. I am pro-Israel especially since they are necessary for end times bible prophecy.”

Carlyle alleged that the UFC was taking his anti-Semitic statements seriously but the promotion has not taken any action against the fighter.

Bryce Mitchell

UFC featherweight Bryce Mitchell – who once asked Donald Trump to call him if he “needs help whooping some politician” – believes that the coronavirus is a bioweapon “made by the government.” He added that the government “infected the people on purpose to cause some type of chaos” in order to “try and take our guns”

Mitchell is best known as the fighter who tore his scrotum with a power drill.

Former UFC fighters

Tito Ortiz

Tito Ortiz is arguably one of the most conspiracy-driven UFC veterans. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hall-of-fame inductee shared several outlandish and easily debunked coronavirus conspiracies, including that the virus is “man-made” in order to quash protests around the world.

He later shared a bizarre and unfounded conspiracy theory surrounding the death of George Floyd, the African-American man who was killed by police officer Derek Chauvin when he kneeled on his neck to pin him down for several minutes until he suffocated. Ortiz claimed that Floyd’s death was not due to suffocation but was due to a heart condition and is linked to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.

Ortiz, an emphatic Trump supporter, has continued to use his platform to spread dangerous theories. Beyond his COVID-19 denialism and strange paranoia, the former UFC champion is now selling QAnon apparel through his Punishment Athletics clothing line. (HT: @FullContactMTWF)

Randy Couture

Fellow former UFC champion Randy Couture has also used his platform to spread COVID-19 denialism, Bill Gates conspiracies, and general fear mongering surrounding the pandemic.

He is also dating Mindy Robinson, a self-proclaimed “conservative activist” who calls Black Lives Matter protestors “thugs” and promotes anti-mask movements.

Rich Franklin

Former UFC champion Rich Franklin, who is currently the VP at ONE Championship, has used his social media to push his disdain for COVID-19, preventative measures such as mandatory masks and social distancing, and conspiracies regarding lockdown measures and child trafficking.

Josh Thomson

Strikeforce and UFC veteran Josh Thomson is among those who has been pushing COVID-19 conspiracies, including posts about the preventative measures taking place in California to combat the pandemic. In one post, he even referenced George Soros (a boogeyman for the far-right). He has also posted false information about a child trafficking incident in Georgia, which was pushed by QAnon.

Brandon Vera

Much like Franklin and Thompson, former UFC contender Brandon Vera has been swept up in the QAnon wave and has used his Instagram account to target “elite pedophiles” and blaming mainstream media for an apparent wide scale cover-up. He has also accused democrats of covering up for elite pedophiles and has even referred to BLM protestors as a “terrorist organization.”

He also has conspiracies regarding COVID-19.

Urijah Faber

Dating as far back as 2015, Urijah Faber has been vocal about his stance on mandatory vaccinations, joining the ranks of anti-vaxxers growing across the United States. He opposed California Senate Bill 277, which removed personal belief as a reason for an exemption from vaccination requirements. His opposition to the bill — despite an outbreak of measles in California in February 2015 — failed to get the necessary number of signatures for their petition.

Nick Catone

Following the death of his infant son in 2017, Nick Catone started a daily journal on Facebook where he regularly blamed vaccinations for the tragedy. The 20-month old toddler died 17 days after receiving a DTaP vaccination that immunizes kids under age 7 from diptheria, tetanus and whooping cough.

Catone’s son has since been used on anti-vaccine billboards spreading dangerous misinformation like “Vaccines Can Kill”

Facebook deleted Catone’s account shortly thereafter, which led to Catone filing a lawsuit against Facebook earlier this year. His lawsuit claims that Facebook’s censorship of anti-vaccine advocates “embodies its categorical attempt to cater to the pharmaceutical industry.”

“Because the sum of $5 billion appears to be insufficient to deter Facebook, the plaintiff asks the jury for a sum significantly in excess of that amount,” he said.

Catone took to social media to explain his position, claiming he is “ex-vax” and will continue to fight to reveal the “truth.”

“First of all I’m not anti-vax, I’m ex-vax. My wife’s a nurse, we vaccinated thought we were doing what we were supposed to and our pediatrician and the bullshit system failed us. All about money. Healthy 20 month olds don’t just pass away in their sleep. People need to know the truth about my son. We have proof and I’ll fight as long as it takes. This happened to the wrong father and family. I’ll never stop fighting. I’m not going away.”

Here is an example of one of his anti-vax posts on Instagram.

Vik Grujic

Former UFC fighter Vik Grujic challenged the Premier of Victoria to a fight due to the strict COVID-19 lockdown measures in place. He has spent the past few months claiming that the coronavirus is a “hoax” and that “communism reigns supreme” in Melbourne, Australia. He ranted about the restrictive measures in place following a surge in cases, adding that his city is “under siege” by a “dictator.” He has also called for Andrews to be lynched.

“The only thing wicked is you,” Grujic tweeted at Andrews last week. “You are evil. You will pay a heavy price for your betrayal. Human rights violations. Answer to no one. State funded propaganda through the vile [mainstream media]. Retribution is coming.”

Pat Miletich

Former UFC champion Pat Miletich has used his social media accounts and podcasts to discuss a wide range of conspiracy theories, mostly revolving around domestic and international politics. He has retweeted posts by Andy Ngo (a right-wing provocateur who fashions himself as a gonzo journalist), George Soros conspiracies, and seems to believe there is a communist conspiracy to take guns away from American citizens.

Miletich also hosts a podcast called the Conspiracy Farm, which has hosted the likes of Tim Kennedy, Bulgarian journalist Dilyana Gaytandzhieva, and Peter Schiff, who predicted the 2008 financial crisis and was later the economic advisor for Ron Paul’s presidential campaign.

When asked to share his thoughts on the “uncertain times” we’re living through, Miletich had this to say:

“It’s a race against time and a race against two sides to be honest with you. A lot of people like to discount the term Deep State, and that it even exists, but now we see mainstream media has started to pick up on the phrase and use it every once in a while. The establishment is a business model of corruption. Politicians across the globe, including our own are deeply entrenched in it. There are a few that are not, luckily. And I do believe that as much of a prick as Donald Trump is, he is trying to get rid of these guys. I think that a lot of the resignations, and the people deciding not to run for office again, are a sign that its actually working. You’re seeing a massive amount of CEO’s resign over the past year. I think there’s a lot of stuff going on behind that scenes that people don’t fully understand.”

Angela Magana

The UFC veteran recently tweeted that stem cell therapy “helps” in treating autism, even though the therapy has no scientific backing.

It should be noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of stem cells for blood disorders, including cancer, but not for autism.

Ronda Rousey

In 2013, former UFC champion Ronda Rousey retweeted a video clip suggesting that the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, CT was a government conspiracy. She later deleted the original tweet but defended her reasoning by stating “ I just figure asking questions and doing research is more patriotic than blindly accepting what you’re told.”

Coaches training UFC fighters

Eddie Bravo

Among the worst conspiracy mongers is Eddie Bravo, the 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu founder and creator of the Eddie Bravo Invitational (EBI) grappling competition, who also coaches UFC fighters like Tony Ferguson. Over the years, Bravo has advocated for an endless array of conspiracy theories, including the Flat Earth conspiracy theory, the moon landing, fake alien invasions, and the 9/11 controlled demolition conspiracy. He even questioned the existence of nuclear bombs, claimed that Elon Musk is controlled opposition and that the New World Order asked him to speak out against the coronavirus lockdown in order to extend the lockdown longer.

Naturally, Bravo had thoughts on the coronavirus as well.

Mike Winkeljohn

The renowned coach behind UFC champions like Holly Holm and Jon Jones, Mike Winkeljohn has filled his Instagram account with a medley of criticism surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, especially the lockdown measures in place. He compared the measures to Nazi Germany and used a fake Hitler quote to prove his (entirely false) point. He then targeted BloodElbow managing editor Anton Tabuena (who wrote the article on Winkeljohn’s Hitler quote) claiming he is playing “dress up like Fidel Castro” while the “rest of us are worried about government overreach.”

Winkeljohn, whose JacksonWink gym was found to have a QAnon flag on its rooftop, has also spent his time promoting fake conspiracy theories.

The Jackson Wink statement also addressed this potential association:

“We denounce all hate groups, alt-right groups, and militia violence. We equally denounce those bad actors who keep trying to falsely portray our extremely diverse and accepting MMA gym as anything other than that for their own shameful politics and agendas.”

UFC Officials/Employees

Don House

In June 2020, long-time UFC cutman Don House appeared on a UFC broadcast sporting a Q symbol on his chest and a WWG1WGA marking on the left arm of his shirt, which stands for “Where we go one we go all” and is a popular slogan amongst QAnon conspiracy theorists and supporters. The UFC claimed to have been unaware of House’s decision to wear the markings, and stated that the cutman had not sought permission to wear the symbols.

House later admitted that he regretted his decision to wear the markings because of the embarrassment it caused White, whom he called a “friend of mine”. However, he also defended QAnon by agreeing with some of the theory’s key principles, including their supposed aim to expose a child sex trafficking ring. “They’re trying to expose that, “ House told MMAFighting.com.

Joe Rogan

Over the years, Rogan has proclaimed his belief in conspiracy theories such as the falsified Apollo moon landing (which he has since moved away from), and that the CIA was behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

He has also discussed conspiracies such as chemtrails, and showed interest in the theory that the building known as WTC 7, which collapsed on 9/11. was a controlled demolition.

Earlier this year, Rogan tried to validate an unfounded conspiracy theory based on Trump’s claims that Barack Obama broke a law during his transition out of office. Despite the theory being debunked by former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, Rogan discussed the merits of the so-called “Obamagate” on his podcast and claimed that Obama was using the FBI to spy on Trump.

Even Trump’s Attorney General William Barr said the accusations would not result in an investigation. therefore silencing the entirely baseless claims.

Apart from peddling in conspiracy theories for over a decade on one of the most popular podcasts in existence, Rogan has also hosted conspiracy mongers such as Alex Jones, Eddie Bravo (sometimes together!), allowing them to peddle conspiracy theories to gullible listeners. While Rogan prides himself on his “question everything” mentality, his podcast has proven to be (at times) dangerous in its ability to convey false information to impressionable followers who already question the legitimacy of mainstream science and media.

Non-UFC

Tara LaRosa (competed on TUF 18 but never had an official UFC fight)

MMA pioneer Tara LaRosa tweeted in April 2020 that the “globalists are using COVID-19 to kill off the elderly and infirm, like the Nazis did in the 1940s called Aktion T4.” She also claimed the following month that she is not an “antivaxxer” but did not plan to take a vaccine that “Bill Gates has anything to do with.”

LaRosa also tweeted a fake list of anti-fascist activists and organizers ahead of a Proud Boys rally in Portland. The list, which was devised on 8chan — an extremist forum where white supremacists and domestic terrorists have uploaded their manifestos — is actually just a list of people who signed an anti-Trump petition from refusefacism.org.

LaRosa has shared plenty of other conspiracies, including calling David Hogg a “crisis actor” in the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. She explored her beliefs in an interview with Frank Mir, available here.

Gina Carano

MMA fighter turned Hollywood actor Gina Carano has been promoting QAnon-related conspiracy theories in her Instagram stories and tweets.

She also recently ranted about the coronavirus-related preventative lockdown measures in the United States, encouraging her followers to “take back your freedom.”

Author notes:

The criteria used to create this list specifically sought out MMA figures who use their platforms to peddle conspiracy theories to their followers. It ignores those who may believe the theories but have chosen not to promote them.

This article will be updated regularly as new conspiracy mongers arise.