UFC President Dana White said that he has no plans to limit the speech of a fighter who is a die-hard supporter of President Trump.
White said that he wouldn’t “muzzle” any of his fighters following a heated post-fight exchange on Saturday between No. 1-ranked welterweight Colby Covington and Nigerian-born Kamaru Usman.
“These guys all have their own causes, things, their own beliefs. We won’t muzzle anybody here,” White said on Thursday at a news conference in Dubai ahead of UFC 253 this weekend. “We let everybody speak their mind. I don’t know what he said that was racist. I don’t know if I heard anything racist that he said.”
Covington has faced criticism from the UFC community this week after calling fighter Tyrone Woodley a “communist” and someone who “hates America” because of his support for Black Lives Matter. Covington bested Woodley in a five-round matchup on Saturday night.
White added that he would have an issue with any of his fighters who used racist language against one another.
“Of course. Come on,” White told reporters. “I’m not going to play these games with you guys.”
Covington, who is an outspoken supporter of Trump and has received praise from the president, described Brazilian people as “filthy animals” prior to a fight with Demian Maia in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2017.
