UFC star Jeff Molina has responded to the backlash he received for wearing rainbow shorts for his latest fight in recognition of Pride Month.
Molina defeated Zhalgas Zhumagulov in a controversial split decision over the weekend, however, some people focused more on his shorts than his win.
Molina wore custom shorts with his name written in rainbow colours as a gesture of solidarity and support of Pride Month and to help raise money and awareness for the LGBTQIA+ Center of Southern Nevada.
However, the shorts caused a stir online with a rally of hateful and negative comments, to the surprise of Molina.
Molina told The MMA Hour: “It was strange because I thought it was something so nonchalant, simple, minuscule.
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“Like, dude, check out my shorts, there’s rainbow colouring on it, it’s just cool that the UFC is doing this for Pride Month.
"I didn’t look at my phone for a couple of hours. I try not to be on my phone too much for fight week, I look at my phone and the comments are split. Actually, not really, the comments were pretty much all pretty hateful.”
Molina admitted to thinking people would be more ‘open-minded’ and was bothered by the criticism.
Speaking at a post-match press conference he hit back at those who criticised his uniform choice.
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He said: “It’s crazy to me, it’s mind-boggling, who cares who someone wants to be with or their sexual preference.
“I was honestly shocked.”
He added: “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.”
He called out people for using their religious beliefs to justify their comments.
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Molina received a lot of praise for standing up for the community and backing his decision to wear the shorts that celebrated Pride Month.
MMA journalist Ben Fowlkes tweeted: “Jeff Molina deserves major respect for putting himself in those crosshairs and then speaking up afterwards.
“How can you disagree with what he’s saying here? Why *do* these people care so much about what others do with their lives and who they love? It’s pure bigotry.”
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While former NBA player Rex Chapman simply tweeted: “I’m a Jeff Molina fan…”
It seems they weren’t the only ones giving kudos and becoming fans of Jeff Molina.
Molina tweeted after his fight: “To all the dudes sliding in my DM’s I’m a straight guy but pshhh I’m flattered!
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“For all the homophobic dudes upset by me repping pride month on my fight kit y’all some fruit cups."
Topics: UFC
Jayden Collins