UFC fighters with controversial political opinions × Follow Us Create Notifications New User posted their first comment this is comment text Link Approve Reject & ban Delete Log in Manage your profile Editing Story Queue Video Queue Editing Stats Writer Home SEO Redirection Admin Gaming Wiki Edits Taxonomy Home Edit Site Menu Mapping Dashboard Tag Pages Community Social Feed Queue Feed Center Notification Center Affiliate Home Manage Pages Bottom Tagline Dash Timeless Stories Logout MMA UFC Listicle Paulo Costa and 4 other UFC fighters with controversial political opinions By Ricardo Viagem Modified 01 Sep 2022 Follow Us Comment Share Paulo Costa with Jair Bolsonaro, and Colby Covington with Donald Trump Paulo Costa with Jair Bolsonaro, and Colby Covington with Donald Trump UFC fighters are known for many things. As the world's premier mixed martial artists, they are celebrated for their world-class skills inside the octagon. Two-time UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson is a paragon of martial arts, as are the likes of former UFC champions Georges St-Pierre and Lyoto Machida. Other fighters are better known for their vitriolic trash talk. Perhaps no mixed martial artist fits this description better than former lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor. The success spawned by the Irishman's trash talk led to an entire generation of fighters eager to copy 'The Notorious' and his antics in a bid to replicate his monetary success. However, among these fighters are those who make headlines for expressing controversial political opinions, whether its due to their support for a polarizing politician or their beliefs surrounding politically-charged conspiracy theories. This list looks at 5 such UFC fighters. #5 Rose Namajunas After defeating Jéssica Andrade in a rematch of their UFC 237 encounter, Rose Namajunas sought to recapture the UFC strawweight champion from Zhang Weili, China's first-ever UFC champion. However, in the leadup to their UFC 261 matchup, 'Thug Rose' brought up the topic of communism and made Zhang Weili, a fighter who has never spoken of political affairs, the face of the controversial ideology. Curious Reporter@ReporterCurious'Better Dead than Red': UFC's Rose Namajunas Defends Anti-Communist Comments Ahead of Zhang Weili Fight political-viewer.com/2021-04-15/bet…'Better Dead than Red': UFC's Rose Namajunas Defends Anti-Communist Comments Ahead of Zhang Weili Fight political-viewer.com/2021-04-15/bet… https://t.co/TJbp3B948q During an interview with a Lithuanian outlet, Namajunas exclaimed a saying oft-repeated during the Cold War era, stating that it's better to be "dead than red" before describing Zhang Weili as red. Furthermore, 'Thug Rose' claimed to be representing freedom, Jesus and the American Dream. Namajunas was widely criticized for her remarks, yet she remained defiant, claiming to be upholding beliefs rooted in her Lithuanian ancestry. She would go on to defeat Weili in back to back bouts. #4 Colby Covington Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington is the most politically-charged fighter in the UFC. At one point 'Chaos' was on the verge of being cut from the UFC due to possessing an uninteresting fighting style and lacking the personality to generate fan interest. The former All-American made the decision to exaggerate his real personality to cartoonish heights. However, Covington did not stop there. BuzzzzzWorld@BuzzzzzWorldUFC fighter & active Trump supporter Colby Covington calls out Jorge Masvidal after beating former champion Tyron Woodley yesterday via TKOHe’s also catching backlash on social media for disrespecting the Black Lives Matter movement and calling it EvilUFC fighter & active Trump supporter Colby Covington calls out Jorge Masvidal after beating former champion Tyron Woodley yesterday via TKOHe’s also catching backlash on social media for disrespecting the Black Lives Matter movement and calling it Evil https://t.co/60Oh7looim Covington used his political support of controversial former US president Donald Trump to craft a persona based on his political beliefs. Covington donned a 'Make America Great Again' hat while claiming to be Trump's favorite fighter. He visited Trump in the White House upon capturing the interim title and also criticized the Black Lives Matter movement, claiming that it consisted of lifelong criminals before branding Tyron Woodley a Marxist and communist for supporting it before defeating the former champ in 2020. #3 Sean Strickland Like Colby Covington, much of what Sean Strickland says is rooted in the cartoonish persona he's adopted to generate fan interest in his bouts. Thus, it is difficult to discern what is fact from fiction when assessing Strickland's actual political beliefs, as is the case with Covington. Nevertheless, Strickland is on record commenting on a series of political topics. Ultimate Fight Fan@UltimateAppFanSean Strickland has his Twitter account suspended following gun control rant - ift.tt/nSJ8izt @UltimateAppFan #UFC #MMASean Strickland has his Twitter account suspended following gun control rant - ift.tt/nSJ8izt @UltimateAppFan #UFC #MMA https://t.co/mOIceQpzaf In the past, he identified himself as a gun owner before verbally attacking the stricter gun laws of other countries. He further claimed that while those countries, specifically Germany and England, suffer from less mass shootings, they lack real men in his opinion. Strickland punctuated his rant by referring to both countries with a transphobic slur. Additionally, the middleweight contender drew the ire of UFC fans after claiming that he held no allegiance to the American flag and would gladly be a Russian mercenary tasked with killing Americans if he were paid enough. #2 Paulo Costa Unlike the Sean Stricklands and Colby Covingtons of the world, Paulo Costa does not play a character whenever he veers into political discussions. The Brazilian bruiser is known for being a supporter of right-wing politician and current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Costa is on record suggesting that a woman's right to an abortion should be mirrored by allowing people to choose whether they should be vaccinated. Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha )@BorrachinhaMMAVladimir Putin is not a weak leader like Biden or Macron. He is an ex-military man who was once stabbed in the belly and survived. He is another level of world leader. you may hate it, but it's the truth.132198Vladimir Putin is not a weak leader like Biden or Macron. He is an ex-military man who was once stabbed in the belly and survived. He is another level of world leader. you may hate it, but it's the truth. https://t.co/T1BWMi56gJ Furthermore, the Brazilian threw his support behind Russian President Vladimir Putin at the onset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He described Putin as a strong leader before describing American President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron as weak. The Brazilian also shares the widely held belief of political conservatives that he should not wear face masks during the ongoing COVID pandemic, among a slew of other controversial opinions. #1 Bryce Mitchell Bryce Mitchell is a bizarre presence in the UFC. Inside the octagon, he is an undefeated grappler whose combination of wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu renders him a force to be reckoned with. Outside the cage, Mitchell is as controversial with his politics as anyone. Specifically, 'Thug Nasty' believes in several outlandish conspiracy theories in regards to firearms. Past Present Prepare@PastPresPrepareUFC's Bryce Mitchell thinks government created coronavirus 'to cause some type of chaos' twib.in/l/GLB7Bnj57LyE5UFC's Bryce Mitchell thinks government created coronavirus 'to cause some type of chaos' twib.in/l/GLB7Bnj57LyE https://t.co/sBHfWgBL6g Bryce Mitchell's believes that the mass shootings that have been plaguing the United States are part of a government conspiracy to introduce a change in legislation to prevent assault rifles from being sold to ordinary citizens. He further claimed that he would never relinquish ownership of his guns due to his belief that the government would otherwise starve him and his fellow Americans. Poll : 0 votes Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Edited by micah.curtis85 × Feedback Thank You! Be the first one to comment Follow Us Share Show More Comments GIF Comment in moderation 0 0 Reply x Edit Delete Delete the comment? No thanks Delete GIF Cancel Update GIF Cancel Reply ❮ ❯ GIF Comment in moderation 0 0 Reply x Edit Delete Delete the comment? No thanks Delete GIF Cancel Update GIF Cancel Reply ❮ ❯ Be the first one to comment on this story More from Sportskeeda Fetching more content... 1 Manage your profile Editing Story Queue Video Queue Editing Stats Writer Home SEO Redirection Admin Gaming Wiki Edits Taxonomy Home Edit Site Menu Mapping Dashboard Tag Pages Community Social Feed Queue Feed Center Notification Center Affiliate Home Manage Pages Bottom Tagline Dash Timeless Stories Logout No Results Found Get the free App now Manage notifications Popular ‍ Sports (30+) CricketCricket HomeCricket NewsScheduleIND vs SAAUS vs WIENG vs PAKLegends LeagueECC T10County ChampionshipBukhatir LeagueNZ T20 Tri-SeriesWomen's Asia Cup 2022Japan Cricket LeagueWI-W vs NZ-WECT10T20 World Cup FootballFootball HomeNewslettersSK Experts ScheduleEPLNations LeagueLa LigaLigue 1Champions LeagueFIFA WCMLS Bundesliga Serie A WWEWWE HomeNewslettersRumor RoundupRAWSmackDownResultsRosterChampionsWWE Extreme Rules 2022PPV ScheduleAEW EsportsEsports HomeMinecraftOverwatch 2RobloxGenshin ImpactFortniteGTAStreamersFree FirePUBGValorantBGMIPop CultureAnimeGaming TechWiki Guides TennisTennis HomeTennis calendarChina OpenTennis Results TodayATP RankingsWTA RankingsRoger FedererRafael NadalNovak DjokovicSerena Williams MMAMMA HomeUFC NewsONE ChampionshipUFC Fight NightScheduleRankingsResultsUFC Fights TonightONE Championship ResultsONE Championship ScheduleONE Championship Rankings KabaddiKabaddi HomePKL 2022PKL SchedulePKL Points TableKabaddi Rules WikiWiki HomeMinecraft WikiNaruto WikiTikTok WikiYoutube WikiGTA WikiTerraria WikiOne Piece Wiki MoreSportsBasketballIndian FootballNFLMinecraftFormula 1NascarPop CultureCollege FootballHockeyGolfAthleticsBadmintonGymnasticsWrestlingSwimmingTennisShootingBoxingArcheryWinter SportsRobloxSkateboardingKho KhoLifestyle LINKS About Us Write For Us Policies Editorial Standards Journalism Awards Fact Check Affiliate Program Careers CSR Privacy Policy Contact Us Edition: English हिन्दी