UFC fighter Jeff Molina hits back at ‘hateful’ backlash after wearing rainbow Pride shorts
Jeff Molina addresses backlash for wearing UFC’s Pride Month shorts (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
UFC star Jeff Molina has said that fans making homophobic comments after he wore rainbow Pride Month shorts during a fight should “just be a decent f**king person”.
The shorts, which were mostly grey but bore his name in rainbow font, drew criticism from some fans, who called the fighter a “virtue signaller”.
In an interview following his victory against Zhalgas Zhumagulov, flyweight MMA fighter Molina decried trolls, saying “who the f**k cares” about what he wears.
“I picked the colours because I thought it looked cool, and then also it supports a good cause,” he said.
“I’ll support anything of a community that’s been oppressed and ostracised for some time for something they can’t help. I’ll get behind any of that. It wasn’t that long ago that there was school segregation… something like Stonewall, that was like 50 years ago. This is recent s**t.
“I just thought in 2022 people would be a little more open-minded and not pieces of s**t, but I guess I was wrong.
“People were saying some crazy s**t and like, dude, what would you do if your kid’s gay?”
Jeff Molina addresses backlash for wearing UFC’s Pride Month shorts (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Molina chose his fight kit to help raise money for the LGBTQIA+ Center of Southern Nevada charity. Sales from a special Pride Month t-shirt by UFC will be going to the same charity.
Molina added in the expletive-strewn rant: “It’s not even about being an ally – I’m not saying I’m not – but it’s just like, just be a decent f**king person. Just be a decent human being.
“Judging someone, and then trying to justify it with religion, and saying all sorts of spiteful, hateful s**t is crazy to me. It’s mind-boggling.
“Who cares who someone wants to be with, their sexual preference, and then the irony of trying to justify it with religion of something that’s supposed to be so accepted… I was honestly shocked [by the negative reaction].”
Molina’s comments were welcomed by LGBTQ+ UFC fans, with athletes in the sport facing criticism in recent years for making homophobic comments and posting transphobic memes online.
UFC fighter Darren Till previously refused to apologise over a transphobic meme, stating: “You can’t cancel someone who doesn’t give a s**t.”
He added: “I’m always posting very controversial things… I have transgender friends who thought it was hilarious.”
The customisable Pride apparel range from UFC is available to shop on the website at ufcstore.com. They’ve confirmed that 100 percent of the profits from sales will benefit The LGBTQIA+ Center of Southern Nevada.
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