“FREEDOM…”
Last weekend, at UFC Vegas 79, featherweight fighter Bryce Mitchell squared off with Dan Ige, which Mitchell won by unanimous decision. He was sporting quite a nasty cut by the end of the fight, but it may have been his entrance that got more people talking.
He entered the octagon singing to Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North Of Richmond,” carrying a Bible, which he held up and yelled “FREEDOM” to the crowd:
As you can imagine, this move by Mitchell drew a ton of praise from fans, along with a ton of criticism from the social media mob who accused him of trying to “proselytize” his beliefs on others.
And of course, the media couldn’t wait to get UFC President and CEO Dana White’s opinion on the matter, and you get the sense the reporter was hoping for Dana to give a negative reaction. However, if you know anything about Dana at all, it’s that he doesn’t silence anybody.
White told the media:
“You know how I am here, whatever you’re into man, there’s no muzzles here… Whoever you are, whatever you believe, whatever you think, we’ve heard it all, seen it all…
but this is one of those places where you say what you feel and say what you want and it’s all good with me.”
So, if you were expecting White to speak out against Mitchell’s actions, then think again, because it’s pretty clear to see that the guy fully supports every one of his fighters’ beliefs, no matter what they are.
You can check out White’s response here:
Ahead of the fight, Bryce praised Dana and the UFC for allowing him to be himself:
“I’m just glad for the opportunity to infuse my personality into what I’m doing… the UFC gives me freedom, I’m in here fightin’ for my freedom.
You can’t be in no NFL team talking how I talk. You can’t be on no NBA team talking how I talk. UFC gives me freedom to be who I wanna be & that’s what I love and that’s why I go in here ready to die.
That’s what I love brother, I’m free.”
Here’s the full entrance from the Arkansas native”
