Tony Kelley Responds To Critics Of Brazil Comments, Cites Cancel Culture

UFC fighter Tony Kelley has addressed his controversial remarks aimed at Brazil that were caught on the UFC Vegas 54 broadcast on Saturday. Kelley was at the UFC Apex to corner his Synergy MMA teammate Andrea Lee for her featured preliminary bout against Viviane Araujo. Midway through the fight, Araujo caught Lee with an accidental…

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UFC fighter Tony Kelley has addressed his controversial remarks aimed at Brazil that were caught on the UFC Vegas 54 broadcast on Saturday.

Kelley was at the UFC Apex to corner his Synergy MMA teammate Andrea Lee for her featured preliminary bout against Viviane Araujo. Midway through the fight, Araujo caught Lee with an accidental eye poke that prompted an angry reaction from Kelley and the rest of Lee’s corner.

But Kelley took things up a notch in between rounds, as he used his time for a pep talk to attack Araujo and her native Brazil.

Kelley was slammed by his fellow UFC colleagues, including a response from Belal Muhammad. After feeling the backlash of his remarks, Kelley took the time to address his comments and deny any wrongdoing.

“Cancel Culture is real,” Kelley tweeted. “What I said was real and in the heat of battle, and in no way had any type of racist connotations meant…but if that’s the way you take it, idgaf. So many people quick to say racist..that shits getting so old. My reference was to a dirty eye poke.”

UFC President Dana White wasn’t in attendance for UFC Vegas 54 and the promotion hasn’t publically commented on Kelley’s remarks.

Kelley, a UFC bantamweight, is scheduled to battle Adrian Yanez at UFC Austin on June 18. He’s won back-to-back fights over Randy Costa and Ali AlQaisi.

What are your thoughts on Tony Kelley’s controversial remarks?

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Tony Kelley Defends Statements During Corner Work at UFC Vegas 54: “Cancel Culture Is Real”

Tony Kelley, Andrea LeeUFC bantamweight Tony Kelley has come under fire for his recent corner work for Andrea Lee at UFC Vegas 54. Last night, Tony Kelley was working in the corner of Andrea Lee in her clash with Viviane Araujo. Kicking the event off in the featured prelims, Araujo managed to secure a victory over Lee via […]

Tony Kelley, Andrea Lee

UFC bantamweight Tony Kelley has come under fire for his recent corner work for Andrea Lee at UFC Vegas 54.

Last night, Tony Kelley was working in the corner of Andrea Lee in her clash with Viviane Araujo. Kicking the event off in the featured prelims, Araujo managed to secure a victory over Lee via unanimous decision.

It wasn’t her performance that got most people talking. On a night full of exciting fights, one of the biggest talking points was Kelley’s racist remarks during Lee’s fight.

Kelley shared some not so wise words of encouragement to pump up Lee for the next round.

“That’s what they’re gonna do. They’re dirty f******* Brazilians. They’re gonna f****** cheat like that. Guess what? We came to f**** somebody up.”

As expected, members of the MMA community were not pleased with the derogatory remarks made by Kelley. Brazilian fighters took to Twitter to express their disapproval along with Kelley’s next opponent Adrian Yanez.

“My guy @yanezmma get a finish on your next fight and I will send you an extra money #UFCVegas54

Tony Kelley responds to the backlash

Following the criticism he faced for his comments, Tony Kelley has now responded to the backlash he received after the event. Kelley seems to be content with his behavior and feels what he said to be okay.

He opened up on what he was talking about when he said “dirty f**king Brazilians” as he referenced a “dirty eye poke”. Taking to Twitter to share his thoughts, Kelley defended his statements.

“Cancel Culture is real. What I said was real and in the heat of battle, and in no way had any type of racist connotations meant…but if that’s the way you take it, idgaf. So many people quick to say racist..that shits getting so old. My reference was to a dirty eye poke.”

Lee has received her end of the criticism as well for her dating choices. In the past, Lee was rebuked by the community for dating a man with Nazi tattoos who eventually ended up assaulting her. Members were quick to point out her taste in men after Kelley’s pep talk.

“Ok that corner work was terrible Lee keeps dating racists”

Do you think the comments from Tony Kelley were racist?

Davey Grant Targets UFC London After UFC Vegas 54 Finish: “I Want Quick Knockouts”

Davey GrantUFC bantamweight Davey Grant is looking to get on the cards for UFC London. Coming off a highlight-reel finish this past weekend, Davey Grant delivered one of the coldest knockouts in the UFC. Going into the bout reeling off two losses, Grant finished his opponent, Louis Smolka, in the opening seconds of the third round. […]

Davey Grant

UFC bantamweight Davey Grant is looking to get on the cards for UFC London.

Coming off a highlight-reel finish this past weekend, Davey Grant delivered one of the coldest knockouts in the UFC. Going into the bout reeling off two losses, Grant finished his opponent, Louis Smolka, in the opening seconds of the third round. A night of low kicks combined with his technical prowess saw the 36-year-old Englishman deliver the finishing strike on the ground.

In the post-fight press conference for UFC Vegas 54: Blachowicz vs. Rakic, Davey Grant was asked about getting back to winning ways at a crucial point in his career.

‘Dangerous’ expanded on his mindset of looking for knockouts, which he achieved last Saturday.

“I expect a war and anything else, or anything less is just a bonus. So I always go in there expecting a war but I’m always trying to knock them out early out. You don’t get paid for overtime and I just want to try and get quick finishes. I’m not here to try and get Fight of the Nights. I want Performance of the Nights. I want quick knockouts but I’ll take whatever I can get.”

Grant shared his thoughts on getting on the card for UFC London.

“It’s always great to go and fight in London. It’s the capital. It’s been a long time since I fought there,” Grant said. “Getting a good reputation now seems to be putting on some really good fights. Yeah, it’d be fantastic to fight in front of a crowd there.

“I like the Apex cards as well. I’m happy to fight anyone anywhere honestly. Don’t even have to tell me who just tell me where and I’ll turn up.”

Davey Grant doesn’t get the bonus

In one of the more underrated cards of the promotion, UFC Vegas 54 packed some exciting fights throughout the night. Andre Petroski opened the prelims to hand Nick Maximov the first loss of his carer. Katlyn Chookagian outscored Amanda Ribas, and for the main event, Jan Blachowicz took home a win over Aleksandar Rakic by TKO due to Rakic’s knee popping out in the third round.

While fans were expecting Davey Grant to grab the Performance of the Night bonus, the extra $50,000 was awarded to Ryan Spann for his first-round finish of Ion Cutelaba.

Grant may not have got the bonus that would’ve been his fifth straight, but he did put on a thriller against Smolka and has proven to be one of the most exciting fighters in a stacked bantamweight division.

Jan Blachowicz to Have Eye Surgery Following Victory Over Rakic at UFC Vegas 54

Jan BlachowiczJan Blachowicz was successful in his UFC return on Saturday, but confirmed that he will undergo eye surgery on Monday following his victory over Aleksandar Rakic. With a third round TKO win over the Austrian, Blachowicz (29-9-0) likely solidified his position as the next in line for a title opportunity following next month’s UFC 275 […]

Jan Blachowicz

Jan Blachowicz was successful in his UFC return on Saturday, but confirmed that he will undergo eye surgery on Monday following his victory over Aleksandar Rakic.

With a third round TKO win over the Austrian, Blachowicz (29-9-0) likely solidified his position as the next in line for a title opportunity following next month’s UFC 275 bout between reigning champion Glover Teixeira and challenger Jiri Prochazka in Singapore; a fight Blachowicz has every intention to attend, but not before undergoing eye surgery this week.

“It’s OK, but I’m going to have some small surgery on Monday on this eye,” Blachowicz said during the post-fight press conference. “Doctor says maybe it’s going to be small, maybe going to be bigger. He don’t know yet. He need to check in the hospital.”

The injury occurred early in the first round of the main event and was clearly causing trouble for the Polish superstar. Blachowicz recalls the injury happening early in the bout, but was uncertain if it was the result of a punch or an unintentional eye poke.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I feel it when it happened. It was in the beginning of the first round, one of the first punches. I don’t see anything in the first round with this eye. [Commentator Michael Bisping] said it was a finger, Aleksandar said it was a punch.”

Jan Blachowicz Hopes His Win on Saturday Will Secure An Opportunity to Regain the Light Heavyweight Championship

With his victory over the No.3 ranked contender, Blachowicz will now turn his attention to regaining the light heavyweight championship he lost to Glover Texeira at UFC 267 in October.

“I hope so, that the UFC gives me another title shot, that I’m going to be next one,” Blachowicz said. “I was No 1, Rakic was No 3. For me it’s obvious that I’m the No 1 contender now for the title shot. I’ve never been in Singapore, so why not? I like traveling. I like being in new places. So if they want me I will go there. But first of all I need to fix the eye. I don’t know what they’re going to do.”

Prior to suffering a second round submission loss to Texeira, Blachowicz was riding a five fight win streak with victories over Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo Souza, Corey Anderson, Dominick Reyes and the UFC’s current middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya

Do you think Jan Blachowicz earned an opportunity to reclaim UFC gold with his victory over Aleksandar Rakic?

Fighters React To UFC Vegas 54 FOTN Between Chookagian & Ribas

Katlyn Chookagian proved that she’s still a threat in the women’s flyweight division after earning a split decision victory over Amanda Ribas at UFC Vegas 54 this evening. The win was Chookagian’s fourth in a row and both women took home an extra $50K after earning Fight of the Night honors. #10-ranked flyweight Chookagian is…

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Katlyn Chookagian proved that she’s still a threat in the women’s flyweight division after earning a split decision victory over Amanda Ribas at UFC Vegas 54 this evening.

The win was Chookagian’s fourth in a row and both women took home an extra $50K after earning Fight of the Night honors. #10-ranked flyweight Chookagian is now inching closer to gaining a second shot at champ Valentina Shevchenko, who she unsuccessfully challenged for the title in 2020.

Tonight’s bout was a thoroughly entertaining, back-and-forth affair. Ribas started strong, keeping Chookagian glued to the canvas for much of round one. But the American soon got back up and the duo traded heavy leather.

Round two saw Ribas dominate on the ground, but Chookagian landed a few heavy blows late on. And the fight stayed on the feet for much of round three, with the duo winging punches in a frenetic last minute of action.

Catch all the highlights of Chookagian’s victory over Ribas below.

This was Katlyn Chookagian’s fourth win in a row.

Now, let’s see how fighters reacted to Chookagian’s victory over Ribas at UFC Vegas 54.

UFC Vegas 54: Blachowicz vs. Raki? Results & Highlights

MMA News is providing ongoing coverage of UFC Vegas 54. We’ve got you covered with live results, video highlights, and post-fight tidbits.

Continue Reading Fighters React To UFC Vegas 54 FOTN Between Chookagian & Ribas at MMA News.

Tony Kelley Criticized For Anti-Brazil Corner Comments To Andrea Lee

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….

Continue Reading Tony Kelley Criticized For Anti-Brazil Corner Comments To Andrea Lee at MMA News.

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.

“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.

“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.