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.
Advert
Molina told The MMA Hour: “It was strange because I thought it was something so nonchalant, simple, minuscule.
“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.
Advert
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.
Advert
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.”
Advert
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!
Advert
“For all the homophobic dudes upset by me repping pride month on my fight kit y’all some fruit cups."
Topics: UFC
Jayden Collins