"No muzzles here” - Dana White defends Bryce Mitchell’s right to hoist Bible inside octagon, says people are ‘free to say what they want' in UFC

Dana White recently weighed in on Bryce Mitchell bringing his bible into the octagon during his fighter introduction and once again following his win over Dan Ige this past Saturday at UFC Vegas 79.

During his post-event press conference following last night's episode of the Contender Series, the UFC CEO shared his thoughts on 'Thug Nasty' hoisting his bible inside the octagon. He mentioned that he isn't bothered in the slightest and noted that the promotion allows fighters to be themselves.

He said:

"I got no reaction, you know how I am here. Whatever you're into, man. There's no muzzles here...Whoever you are, whatever you believe, whatever you think, we've heard it all, seen it all, well we think we have."

Dana White continued by bringing up that the fighters aren't discouraged from sharing their views and beliefs. He mentioned that they have the freedom of speech and that the UFC won't penalize them for sharing a religious or political message, saying:

"But, you know, this is one of those places where [you can] say what you feel and say what you want, and it's all good with me."

Bryce Mitchell isn't the only fighter to have spoken about his religious beliefs as there have been many others, past and present, that have done so, and Dana White has remained consistent with his stance on fighters' freedom of speech.

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Dana White provides update on Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler

Dana White provided an update and potential timeline for the highly anticipated Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight.

The lightweights served as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, but a fight hasn't materialized because 'The Notorious' is required to re-enter the USADA testing pool for a 6-month period before being eligible to return. During the aforementioned press conference, the UFC CEO mentioned that the fight is likely to take place in 2024 but would offer Chandler another fight if he becomes eager to return sooner, saying:

"I've been saying for a while next year is when Conor's gonna fight. And then obviously, if Chandler gets antsy, we'll figure something out."