Earlier today at a UFC Fan Expo Q&A in Las Vegas, UFC fighter Donald Cerrone used a homophobic slur when referring to the Daniel Cormier vs. Anderson Silva fight at UFC 200.
Cerrone said that Daniel Cormier vs. Anderson Silva was the worst fight, saying:
“It was terrible. How are you going to give up weight and then fight like a fag, man?”
Sadly, that line from Cerrone was followed by cheers from the fans in attendance. Also on this panel was Phil “CM Punk” Brooks, who jumped in and said that the same people that were bashing Cormier are the the ones cheering for Brock Lesnar, who he believes used the same strategy.
When Punk said it was the same thing, Cerrone said that Cormier had a 30 pound weight advantage and Silva took the fight on two days notice and said Cormier should have stood and fought. Punk said if he was fighting Silva, he’d want to take him down as well.
Obviously things like this UFC tries to avoid, but this couldn’t come at a worse time.
Last night in the main event of UFC 200, the company crowned their first openly gay champion, Amanda Nunes, who defeated reigning champion Miesha Tate in the first round in shocking fashion.
UFC works heavily with the LGBTQ community, and there is yet to be word if Cerrone will be punished for this slur. This comes just days after the organization introduced a “We Are All Fighters” initiative as a partnership with the LGBTQ Center in Las Vegas and fighters were wearing those shirts, including Cormier, during the weekend.
UFC released the following statement on this matter:
“We are incredibly disappointed in Cerrone’s comment at today’s UFC Fan Expo and would be meeting with him to discuss the severity of the situation. We are a proud advocate for equality and Cerrone will be educated on the issues impacting the LGBTQ community, particularly related to the sensitivity surrounding his choice of words today.””
This also isn’t the first time Cerrone was caught using a homophobic slur within the UFC spotlight. In 2010, Donald Cerrone went on TapouT Radio and stated the following during the interview:
INTERVIEWER: “I mean, I have to laugh because… I mean, no one hates someone more than you hate Jamie Varner. I mean, it’s just…”
DONALD CERRONE: “This is real, this isn’t like the WEC trying to get us to you know to amp it up, which I’m not. He’s really a fag. I mean, that’s what he is, you know, and his true colors will show up. You can’t hide your colors, man. They’re going to turn up and everyone’s going to see. He’s going to call timeout or he’s going to look for a way out, he’s got the bitch gene, man, and when you have a bitch gene it don’t matter what you do you can’t fight and you’re either born with it and that’s who you are as a person and you can’t fix that, you know, and it’s going to come out.”
Cerrone did release an apology on Twitter after blowing up on the air:
“@TapouTWorldWide I don’t really wish death on anyone!! Just got caught up in talking s***! My apologies @jamievarner! Took it to far.”
This time around, Cerrone gave a more detailed and “genuine” apology on Instagram for this incident, where he was seen wearing one of the “We Are All Fighters” T-Shirts provided by the UFC. He also attached this:
“Earlier today, I said something that was offensive & I’m truly sorry. I’ve got so many friends and fans in the LGBTQ community who I let down today. I can and will be better because I respect the community and equality matters!#WeAreAllFighters @ufc.”
Author’s Note: As Editor-in-Chief of this site, I rarely if ever introduce my own personal opinions or feelings when reporting news-based articles, but this one hit close to home for me and I feel as if I have a personal and moral responsibility to report on this issue. As a proud member of the LGBTQ community, I feel like Cerrone should receive some sort of punishment for this “slip,” preferably a large fine. Personally, I know some people use those types of phrases as a substitute for words like “stupid” and are from a different era, but when you’re a public figure, in a major company like UFC, it reflects so badly on the company, the sport and Donald Cerrone. I’m extremely disappointed in Cerrone’s choice of words, and this is also not the first time he’s had this type of “slip,” which is why I don’t believe he deserves any sort of pass. I’ve truly lost all respect for Mr. Cerrone. His slur showed the sport still has a way to go before all its fighters embrace diversity and I’ll be interested and intrigued to see if UFC hands down any punishment.
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