MMA pioneer under fire for homophobic tweet aimed at UFC and ESPN

A mixed martial arts pioneer has landed himself in hot water with fans after posting a homophobic tweet.

Nate Marquardt, who is a former UFC middleweight title challenger and ex-Strikeforce champion, wasn't too fond of a commercial which aired during his ESPN+ stream of UFC Fight Night 219.

He tweeted: “Wow disgusting commercial watching @ESPNPlus with my kids and have to tell them to look away so they don’t see two men kissing! @ufc @espn #barf #disgusting.”

Upon reading Marquardt's tweet, people began piling in.

But the retired fighter and devout Christian wasn't backing down from an argument, replying to virtually everyone who took issue with his stance.

But despite receiving backlash for his remarks, Marquardt has decided not to delete the tweet.

Instead, it remains live where it has continued to gain traction – mainly for the wrong reasons.

When MMA Junkie did a story on Marquardt's views, he wasted no time in firing right back.

He tweeted: "Hey @MMAJunkie thanks for promoting my tweet!"

"1- it wasn’t hateful. 2- it wasn’t unnecessary. 3- ad hominem attacks on me don’t prove your point.

"I am standing up against evil in the media where most people are too scared to get canceled."

But it barrage of tweets didn't stop there.

He added: "It is not hateful to say that homosexuality, pedophilia, or fornication is disgusting. It’s not loving to be silent when the culture praises things that lead people to Hell (1Cor 6:9-11). It’s not hateful, but loving to protect children from this world’s evil demented propaganda."

Before saying: "I find it interesting how many people are accusing me of being hateful in response to my last few tweets.

"1- read their responses and see who is being hateful. 2- if they believe God doesn’t exist, what is wrong with hate? 3- if something is wrong, should we speak against it?"

According to MMA Junkie, Marquardt has been outspoken about his Christian beliefs throughout his career inside the cage.

In July of 2007 at UFC 73, he fought the legendary Anderson Silva for the middleweight belt but was knocked out in the first round.

He was released by the UFC in 2011 but went on to win the Strikeforce middleweight title just a year later, defeating Tyron Woodley.