UFC president Dana White explained why his organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, does not hold a Pride Night.
While many pro sports leagues in North America and across the world hold a Pride Night, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, the UFC has held back from doing so.
No one has asked White why the UFC hasn’t held a Pride Night until now, but we now know why he doesn’t have an interest in doing so.
Dana White Explains Why UFC Doesn’t Have Pride Night
Speaking on the “Tomi Lahren is Fearless” podcast, White was asked why the UFC doesn’t hold a Pride Night, and here’s what he said.
“Listen, I’m staring at my board of top-15 fighters. I’m assuming we have some gay fighters. I don’t know how many of them are openly (gay). I know that we have gay female fighters. I don’t give a (expletive). I don’t care what you are, or who you are, or what you do. We don’t talk about that or any of that stuff. We have a t-shirt that says, ‘We are all fighters,’ and it’s got the gay flag colors on it. But I don’t know. Everybody, do your own thing. I’m just not into it,” White said.
UFC Has Many Openly LGBTQ+ Fighters
As White noted, the UFC has many openly LGBTQ+ fighters, especially in the women’s divisions.
UFC women’s legend Amanda Nunes is one of the most notable, but she’s just one of many, as other former UFC champions like Germaine de Randamie, Raquel Pennington, and Jessica Andrade are openly LGBTQ+.
In addition, female MMA fighters such as Priscila Cachoeira, Karol Rosa, Tecia Pennington, Nina Nunes, Macy Chiasson, Viviane Araujo, Liz Carmouche, Mayra Bueno Silva, Denise Gomes, and Gloria de Paula are all openly LGBTQ+. In fact, some of these fighters are in relationships with each other, and some are even married to each other, so there is a large LGBTQ+ community in the UFC and in the sport of mixed martial arts in general, though that doesn’t mean White feels that holding a Pride Night is necessary.
From the men’s side, former UFC flyweight Jeff Molina is openly gay, and as White mentioned, there are likely more who have not come out yet.
We’ll see if White ever changes his mind about holding a UFC Pride Night, but as of right now, he is holding steadfast on not doing so.
Dana White Explains Why UFC Doesn’t Hold a Pride Night