Andrei Arlovski apologizes for homophobic slur in post-fight interview

Over the last few years of his career, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski has frequently been accused of having a glass chin. After battering Ben Rothwell to a unanimous decision victory at UFC San Antonio over the weekend — and absorbing plenty of Rothwell’s best offense — he passionately challenged anybody who has questioned his durability. Unfortunately, he included a homophobic slur in this impassioned speech.

“Once again I will tell everyone shut your (expletive) mouths about my ‘glass chin,’ so go f*ck yourself, fa**ots,” Arlovski said during a post-fight interview. “That’s it. I proved to everyone you’re f*cking wrong.”

The good news is that Andrei Arlovski was quick to apologize for his use of this word. He did so in a statement to MMA Junkie.

“I apologize to anyone I offended with my poor choice of words,” Arlovski said. “I did not mean to offend any one group or person. I am deeply sorry and will not use these type of words in the future.”

MMA Junkie also obtained a statement from the UFC. In this statement, the promotion took a stance against derogatory language of this kind, and assured that Arlovski and his team have been spoken to.

“UFC is aware of the recent remarks from heavyweight athlete Andrei Arlovski,” the statement read. “The organization does not condone any disparaging comments regarding race, religion and/or sexual orientation. We have already addressed this issue directly with Andrei and his team. This is an ongoing priority for the organization, and there will be continued monitoring of these types of situations moving forward.”

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 7/22/2019.