Tyler Manawaroa apologizes for controversial photo on Instagram, denies racist intent

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): "Nations" semifinalist, Tyler Manawaroa, has issued an apology for the controversial photo that has been sitting on his Instagram account for the better part of 18 months, which fellow TUF guy Kajan Johnson exposed earlier today using social media.

See what all the hullabaloo is about right here.

"Wild Thing," who caused an uproar among his fellow cast mates and coaches on Twitter, told his fans (via Facebook) that the photo -- littered with racial epithets -- was intended to poke fun at stereotypes, rather than offend the mixed martial arts (MMA) community.

"I posted a pic on Instagram that has offended people. I'm very sorry! As you can imagine that was never the intention. As a dark-skinned person myself who has dealt with racism all my life, I was making fun of the stereotype that all dark people go to jail, which is obviously not true, hence the irony. But I will remove it and I apologize for offending you."

The pic has since been removed.

In addition, Manawaroa's manager has contacted MMAmania.com to confirm the photo was in "poor taste," but to also vehemently deny that his client had malicious intent. In addition, the budding middleweight was just 17 years old at the time the photo was posted, so he's likely to get the benefit of the doubt.

That being said, he may still be on the hook with his employer.

ZUFFA has a history of dishing out fines for social media faux pas, something Nate Diaz learned by using the word "fag" when referring to a fellow fighter. That doesn't account for the punishments levied against Forrest Griffin and Miguel Torres for their respective rape tweets.

TUF: "Nations" airs every Wednesday night on FOX Sports 1.