It’s the fight business.
Last night (Sat., Sep 9, 2023) at UFC 293, there were two instances where UFC fighters used homophobic slurs during their post-fight interviews with Daniel Cormier, which left the fanbase disgusted. First, on the “Prelims,” Charlie Radtke exploded on the mic after his unimpressive win over “Blood Diamond,” and then Manel Kape did the same after a firey promo about Kai-Kara France.
UFC President Dana White was asked about Kape using a slur during the UFC 293 post-fight press conference and seemed unbothered but acknowledged it was a mistake.
“I was flying around a little bit tonight. I think these guys get a little excited, and you know, you make bad mistakes,” White told the media. “Radke did the same thing. You know me, we didn’t run over to him and say, ‘You better apologize.’ He did that on his own. When he got backstage, he was embarrassed and, you know, got caught up in the moment…He felt like he was treated like sh-t.
We make mistakes. I am not holier than thou, either. So we’ve all been in positions where we’ve made mistakes. And like I always say, it’s how you recover from it and how you carry yourself after you make the mistake. He came out and apologized on his own free will. We didn’t tell him to do anything. And the fact that he did that means he means it. You know, I don’t make anybody apologize for anything. You do what you want. You’re grown men and women. You know, you’re able to say whatever you want- he did it, he came back, he was embarrassed, and he apologized. I’m sure some people will accept his apology, and some people won’t.”
After his fight, Radtke took to his social media to issue an apology, and then Kape apologized during the UFC 293 press conference.
“I am sorry for that; it was emotional; during the interviews, we are all emotional, and we say things that we didn’t want to say, so for those who feel bad about that, I apologize,” Kape told the media.
On top of that, foul-mouth Sean Strickland is the new UFC Middleweight champion, but White assured that he won’t censor his new champion.
“You know the answer to this question. Listen, we put this guy in the spot. And you know, there was no holy sh-t; we didn’t know this was gonna happen going into this,” White said. “Who the hell knows what’s gonna happen whenever he gets in here. So it is what it is. This is the fight business, boys and girls. He is one of the nuttiest in the sport.”
If you have watched any Strickland interview with the media, he was off the hinges again. Watch it below.
For complete UFC 293 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.