TUF 15 contestant Dakota Cochrane: Role in gay porn 'was a mistake' and I'm ready to 'move on'

Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 15 contestant Dakota Cochrane, who made headlines earlier this week for his previous role as "Danny" in gay porn, has a message for people who have a hard time accepting his past.

Say what you need to say, then move on.

Cochrane (11-2) is perhaps best known in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) for his lopsided unanimous decision win over Jamie Varner at Titan Fighting Championship 20 last September. That win, along with his overall record, was enough to earn him a spot on the FX Channel reality show.

Now he's ready to give fight fans something new to talk about when he debuts as part of the 32-man cast a week from Friday (March 9, 2012) as part of the "new" version of TUF, which includes weekly live elimination fights.

More on Cochrane's past, present and future (via MMA Fighting) after the jump.

"It's definitely a decision I regret. If I would have known what would happen I definitely wouldn't have done it. But I had money issues and I needed help. I went there to do pictures, and they started throwing pretty high numbers in front of me. I didn't really think. It was a big mistake. I think it's a little bit courageous for both of us. I could just hide in a hole and no one would know except for the people close to me. And to [the UFC], I was up front. I let them know right away so it wasn’t anything that could come back and bite them in the butt. I think maybe they respected that a little bit. I think some people judge against it, some people will be OK with it. Some people will want me to get my butt kicked, and hopefully others will respect what I'm trying to do. I'm looking forward to getting it done and over with. People can be shocked, and people can say whatever they need to say, and then we can move on."

Cochrane insists he is not gay, rather suffered from a "temporary lapse in judgment" stemming from financial struggles in college. He reportedly made upwards of $80,000 for his participation in the videos.

He was also upfront with the UFC brass prior to being selected as a candidate for the show. The big question now is how the other contestants will react should he earn a spot in the TUF house.

Stay tuned.

Find out who Cochrane will compete against on The Ultimate Fighter 15 (assuming he makes it past the opening elimination rounds) when it premieres a week from Friday by checking out the complete roster right here.

More news and notes on TUF 15 here.