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UFC fighters are known for many things. As the world's premier mixed martial artists, they are celebrated for their world-class skills inside the octagon. Two-time UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson is a paragon of martial arts, as are the likes of former UFC champions Georges St-Pierre and Lyoto Machida.
Other fighters are better known for their vitriolic trash talk. Perhaps no mixed martial artist fits this description better than former lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor. The success spawned by the Irishman's trash talk led to an entire generation of fighters eager to copy 'The Notorious' and his antics in a bid to replicate his monetary success.
However, among these fighters are those who make headlines for expressing controversial political opinions, whether its due to their support for a polarizing politician or their beliefs surrounding politically-charged conspiracy theories. This list looks at 5 such UFC fighters.
#5. Rose Namajunas
After defeating Jéssica Andrade in a rematch of their UFC 237 encounter, Rose Namajunas sought to recapture the UFC strawweight champion from Zhang Weili, China's first-ever UFC champion. However, in the leadup to their UFC 261 matchup, 'Thug Rose' brought up the topic of communism and made Zhang Weili, a fighter who has never spoken of political affairs, the face of the controversial ideology.
During an interview with a Lithuanian outlet, Namajunas exclaimed a saying oft-repeated during the Cold War era, stating that it's better to be "dead than red" before describing Zhang Weili as red. Furthermore, 'Thug Rose' claimed to be representing freedom, Jesus and the American Dream. Namajunas was widely criticized for her remarks, yet she remained defiant, claiming to be upholding beliefs rooted in her Lithuanian ancestry. She would go on to defeat Weili in back to back bouts.
#4. Colby Covington
Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington is the most politically-charged fighter in the UFC. At one point 'Chaos' was on the verge of being cut from the UFC due to possessing an uninteresting fighting style and lacking the personality to generate fan interest. The former All-American made the decision to exaggerate his real personality to cartoonish heights. However, Covington did not stop there.
Covington used his political support of controversial former US president Donald Trump to craft a persona based on his political beliefs. Covington donned a 'Make America Great Again' hat while claiming to be Trump's favorite fighter. He visited Trump in the White House upon capturing the interim title and also criticized the Black Lives Matter movement, claiming that it consisted of lifelong criminals before branding Tyron Woodley a Marxist and communist for supporting it before defeating the former champ in 2020.
#3. Sean Strickland
Like Colby Covington, much of what Sean Strickland says is rooted in the cartoonish persona he's adopted to generate fan interest in his bouts. Thus, it is difficult to discern what is fact from fiction when assessing Strickland's actual political beliefs, as is the case with Covington. Nevertheless, Strickland is on record commenting on a series of political topics.
In the past, he identified himself as a gun owner before verbally attacking the stricter gun laws of other countries. He further claimed that while those countries, specifically Germany and England, suffer from less mass shootings, they lack real men in his opinion. Strickland punctuated his rant by referring to both countries with a transphobic slur.
Additionally, the middleweight contender drew the ire of UFC fans after claiming that he held no allegiance to the American flag and would gladly be a Russian mercenary tasked with killing Americans if he were paid enough.
#2. Paulo Costa
Unlike the Sean Stricklands and Colby Covingtons of the world, Paulo Costa does not play a character whenever he veers into political discussions. The Brazilian bruiser is known for being a supporter of right-wing politician and current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Costa is on record suggesting that a woman's right to an abortion should be mirrored by allowing people to choose whether they should be vaccinated.
Furthermore, the Brazilian threw his support behind Russian President Vladimir Putin at the onset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He described Putin as a strong leader before describing American President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron as weak. The Brazilian also shares the widely held belief of political conservatives that he should not wear face masks during the ongoing COVID pandemic, among a slew of other controversial opinions.
#1. Bryce Mitchell
Bryce Mitchell is a bizarre presence in the UFC. Inside the octagon, he is an undefeated grappler whose combination of wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu renders him a force to be reckoned with. Outside the cage, Mitchell is as controversial with his politics as anyone. Specifically, 'Thug Nasty' believes in several outlandish conspiracy theories in regards to firearms.
Bryce Mitchell's believes that the mass shootings that have been plaguing the United States are part of a government conspiracy to introduce a change in legislation to prevent assault rifles from being sold to ordinary citizens. He further claimed that he would never relinquish ownership of his guns due to his belief that the government would otherwise starve him and his fellow Americans.
