Dana White addresses the homophobic slurs made by fighters during UFC 293: “We make mistakes. I am not holier than thou either”

UFC President Dana White has reacted to two of his fighters dropping homophobic slurs during a recent event.

The UFC has been known to be fairly hands-off when it comes to disciplinary actions for fighters who speak their mind. Fighters such as Sean Strickland have been pushing the envelope and testing just how long the leash is under Dana’s watch. At UFC 293, both Charles Radtke and Manel Kape dropped homophobic slurs during their respective post-fight victory interviews.

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Charles Radtke has since publicly apologized for his actions. During the UFC 293 post-fight press conference, Dana White discussed the situation and insisted that neither fighter was told they needed to apologize for the slurs used.

“Yeah, I was flying around a little bit tonight,” White said. “I think these guys get a little excited and you make bad mistakes. Radtke did the same thing, and 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 got caught up in the moment. Did you guys talk to him tonight? No, so he felt like he was treated like sh*t and all that stuff, got emotional for whatever reason.

“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. I don’t make anybody apologize for anything. You do what you want. You’re grown men and women, 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.”

The response from White probably doesn’t come as a surprise to MMA fans. After all, the UFC boss has hammered the point home that he believes in free speech and that in the fight business, there’s very little one can do to cancel themselves.

Dana White addresses the homophobic language from fighters at #UFC293

“We make mistakes. I am not holier than thou either… It’s how you recover from it.” pic.twitter.com/ymNiPPfoGj

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) September 10, 2023