Top middleweight contender Yoel Romero momentarily found himself in hot water after allegedly making an anti-gay remark following his victory over Lyoto Machida at last weekend's (Sat., June 27, 2015) UFC Fight Night 70 event in Hollywood, Florida.
"Soldier of God," however, denied making any derogatory comments, and insisted that much of the confusion can be attributed to fact that he delivered his post-fight speech in English, without the aid of a translator.
Fortunately for Yoel, he has the backing of his boss, Dana White, who spoke to MMA Fighting after yesterday's (Tues., June 30, 2015) unveiling of the Reebok "Fight Kit" uniforms (more on that here). White said he doesn't believe the comments were controversial.
He did, however, advise Yoel -- and the rest of his roster -- to keep religion out of the Octagon.
"No, it wasn't controversial at all. But the reality is this: You just won the biggest fight of your career, America doesn't want to hear your thoughts on Jesus. Keep that stuff at home; religion, politics, all that stuff. When you're out there fighting and you're being interviewed, they want to hear about the fight. It's awesome you love Jesus; love Jesus all you want. You just don't have to do it publicly."
And you know how much the boss hates politics.
White could have a tough time attempting to limit what fighters can and can't say during their victory speech, considering how often Jesus is mentioned in post-fight interviews. Look no further than Benson Henderson, Diego Sanchez, Chris Weidman, and many, many more.
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