Dana White: ‘America Doesn’t Want To Hear About Jesus’
UFC middleweight beast and ‘Soldier Of God’ Yoel Romero subjected Lyoto Machida to an unholy beatdown at UFC Fight Night 70, and then went on a holy crusade in the post-fight interview. Romero remarked that ‘America had forgot about the best-of-the-best, Jesus Christ,’ but his final comments sparked instant controversy and a debate that has not stopped since. Some argue that he said ‘Go for Jesus, no forget Jesus,’ while others believe it was ‘Go for Jesus, not for gay Jesus’.
The aggressive-styled Cuban wrestler may have been a victim of unfortunate circumstance, given his heavy accent and timing in terms of the recent same-sex marriage laws, or maybe he was speaking his mind on a taboo topic. Either way, ‘Soldier Of God’ apologized at the post-fight press conference in Hollywood, California, saying it was a misunderstanding. UFC president Dana White spoke up about the subject after the hilariously ill-fated UFC Reebok Kit Reveal, quotes from MMAFighting.com, via MMAMania:
“No, it wasn’t controversial at all. But the reality is this: You just won the biggest fight of your career, America doesn’t want to hear your thoughts on Jesus. Keep that stuff at home; religion, politics, all that stuff. When you’re out there fighting and you’re being interviewed, they want to hear about the fight. It’s awesome you love Jesus; love Jesus all you want. You just don’t have to do it publicly.”
Romero is not the only fighter by a long shot who likes to thank Jesus after he fights, Vitor Belfort is a prime example of that, and America, of all places, should be able to appreciate a Christian view. A recent poll on ABC news revealed that a whopping 83 percent of Americans declare themselves as Christians, 13 percent are atheist and the rest is made up of mostly Muslims, Buddhists and lesser known religions. Coming to think of it, America is probably the most likely place in the world to want to hear a Christian point of view, but the religious aspect is not what caused controversy, and White knows that.
It would have been a touchy comment long before it was made, and maybe the fact is was such a big win is inflating the situation somewhat. ‘Soldier Of God’ has never portrayed himself as a hateful person, so most are inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt in regards to any ‘homophobic’ comments, but is the UFC president right in trying to squash the Cuban contender’s style of interview?
If the guy has just crushed a legend and ex-UFC champion, shouldn’t his topic of conversation be up to him? Of course, he needs to work on his English to avoid landing in politically incorrect potholes in the future, if that was the case, but isn’t praising God becoming more of a normal thing for UFC stars in their victory speech?
