UFC bantamweight Tony Kelley is being criticized for Anti-Brazilian comments made to Andrea Lee during the UFC Vegas 54 event.
During the UFC Vegas 54 preliminary card, Andrea Lee was involved in an action-packed fight against Brazilian opponent and #8-ranked women’s flyweight Viviane Araujo. Araujo would go on to win the fight via unanimous decision.
Between rounds, Kelley could be heard giving Lee some interesting corner advice that categorized Brazilians, such as Araujo, as dirty cheaters. You can find his comments below.
— Sober Costa
(@EraserBy) May 15, 2022
(@EraserBy)
“That’s what they’re gonna do. They’re dirty fuckin’ Brazilians. They’re gonna fuckin’ cheat like that. Guess what? We came to fuck somebody up!”
It wasn’t long until these comments began to go viral, with members of the MMA community taking exception to Kelley’s controversial remarks.
“Ok that corner work was terrible. Lee keeps dating racists,” wrote top-5 UFC middleweight Belal Muhammad.
“Tony Kelley in the corner: “That’s what they’re going to do, they’re dirty f*cking Brazilians, they’re going to f*cking cheat like that.” Unacceptable…” MMA reporter Aaron Bronsteter wrote.
Former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns even put an MMA bounty on Kelley’s head addressed directly to his June 18th opponent Adrian Yanez. Yanez responded by informing Burns that he would gladly dispose of Kelley for free.
Aaayyyyyy
But this finish will be on the house— Adrian Yanez (@yanezmma) May 15, 2022
“My guy @yanezmma get a finish on your next fight and I will send you an extra money,” Burns wrote.
“Aaayyyyy, but this finish will be on the house,” the Mexican-American Yanez responded beneath a series of Brazilian flag emojis.
Kelley’s hot-mic remarks are reminiscent of Colby Covington’s infamous 2017 promo where he called the Brazilian audience “filthy animals,” thus kicking off his current heel run.
As for Lee, Belal Muhammad’s remarks accusing her of dating “racists” is in reference to her ex-husband and former coach Donny Aaron, who was confirmed to have Nazi/white supremacist tattoos. Though Aaron expressed regret for the tattoos, he also stated that he would not have them removed.
Lee defended Aaron at the time, stating that neither of them was racist and that he got the tattoos during a different stage of his life. She went on to say that Aaron was a changed and loving man. The couple would split months later after Aaron was arrested for domestically battering her.
What are your thoughts on Tony Kelley’s remarks and the backlash that accompanied them?
Continue Reading Tony Kelley Criticized For Anti-Brazil Corner Comments To Andrea Lee at MMA News.