UFC fighters exchange vile anti-gay slurs during hotel confrontation in viral video
UFC fighters Jeremy Stephens and Yair Rodriguez (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty)
UFC fighters Jeremy Stephens and Yair Rodriguez have come under fire after they were seen using homophobic slurs in a viral video.
In the video, which was recorded in a hotel lobby and shared by Indiscutido.com, Stephens shouted at Rodriguez: “You poked me in the eye, faggot.” Rodriguez shouted the same slur back at him.
The incident occurred after Stephens’ and Rodriguez’s fight on Saturday during which Stephens was reportedly poked in the eye, Forbes reports.
Fans in the arena chanted the word “Puto” in response to the foul. The word is derogatory in Mexican-Spanish and is often considered an equivalent to ‘faggot’.
Other UFC fighters have used homophobic and transphobic language in the past.
The UFC – or the Ultimate Fighting Championship – prohibits the use of homophobic slurs by fighters in its Code of Conduct. However, this is not the first time an incident like this has happened.
In July, UFC fighter Andrei Arlovski used a homophobic slur and later apologised in a statement.
“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,” he said. He was not disciplined by the UFC for the use of the homophobic slur.
You poked me in the eye, faggot.
In a statement at the time, UFC said they do not condone “disparaging comments regarding race, religion and/or sexual orientation”.
“This is an ongoing priority for the organisation, and there will be continued monitoring of these types of situations moving forward,” they continued.
Conor McGregor came under fire for an anti-gay slur in 2017.
Meanwhile, in January 2018, UFC fighter Paulo Costa threatened to beat up a transgender competitor in order to “protect women”.
Irish UFC fighter Conor McGregor also caused uproar in 2017 when he called rival Andre Fili a “faggot.”
McGregor remained silent on the issue for more than a week before claiming that the controversy was concocted to “throw [him] under the bus”.
“I meant no disrespect to nobody… of any… of the LGBT community,” he continued.
“You’d swear I was screaming at two people of the same sex kissing. I campaigned, when we were trying to get same sex marriage legalised, I was campaigning for that.”
