Sean O'Malley issued an apology after he was accused of making a racist gesture in his face-off against Chinese fighter Song Yadong ahead of their UFC 324 fight.
The UFC sets up shop at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena for the stacked UFC 324 on Saturday.
An interim UFC lightweight title clash between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett headlines the blockbuster card, with a loaded main-card also set.
Arnold Allen faces Jean Silva to open the main-card, with a women's flyweight title eliminator between Natalia Silva and Rose Namajunas also slated.
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Surging heavyweight Waldo Cortes-Acosta meets fan favourite Derrick Lewis and O'Malley takes on Yadong in the co-main event.
O'Malley and Yadong have already come face-to-face ahead of their bantamweight showdown, having squared off at UFC's seasonal press conference last month.
The face-off drew plenty of attention after the American wore a face mask when he went head-to-head with his Chinese opponent.
O'Malley's antics were construed as racist by many fans and critics alike, not to mention Yadong himself.
At the time of the incident, 'The Kung Fu Kid', who is based in the United States, called out his rival's stunt, stating it was 'totally racist'.
"Yeah, that was totally racist,” he told Jake Noecker. "I’m not happy with that. The Chinese didn’t like that...
"He wants to be the second Conor so I’m okay with that because it’s good for promotion. Whatever he does, I’m focused on my fight."
Well, on Wednesday, O'Malley was asked about his decision to wear a face mask against Yadong.
He apologised, claiming it got taken out of context.
"My intentions were never harmful," the 31-year-old said at UFC 324 media day. "It’s supposed to be a little silly joke. It was that and it got taken out of [context]. I apologise if I offended anybody."
Before 'Suga' arrived at the UFC 324 media day, Song admitted the move was low but insisted he was focused on the task at hand.
"I’m OK but I think don’t bring racism in this sport," he said. "Just keep it a sport. He already regretted it. He got an interview from China, he said he was sorry to fans. He’s trying to get inside of my head like a mind game. But I don’t care, I just focus on the fight. I don’t care. I just want to win the fight. Focused."
O'Malley is on a two-fight losing skid, having lost back-to-back title fights to Merab Dvalishvili.
But, given he is one of the biggest names in the division, a win over Yadong could see him land a title shot against Petr Yan.
As for Yadong, he's also in title contention, having returned to the win column following his defeat to Yan by beating Henry Cejudo via technical decision.
Topics: UFC
Nasir Jabbar