Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Bryce Mitchell distanced himself from his past comments about Adolf Hitler, saying he’s “definitely not a Nazi” after his comments sparked backlash, including from the promotion’s head, Dana White.
“I’m sorry I sounded insensitive,” Mitchell wrote in a Saturday statement on Instagram. “I definitely was not trying to offend anybody, but I know I did. I know that a lot of people died in the Holocaust, and that’s a fact. Hitler did a lot of evil things, I think we can all agree on that. I’m definitely not a Nazi, and definitely do not condone any of the evil things Hitler did.”
In the first episode of his podcast “ArkanSanity,” Mitchell, a featherweight UFC martial artist, said Hitler was a “good guy” who defended his nation during World War II. He described the leader of the Third Reich, who was responsible for a genocide that killed millions, as “a guy I’d go fishing with.”
“I really do think before Hitler got on meth, he was a guy I’d go fishing with. He fought for his country. He wanted to purify it by kicking the greedy Jews out that were destroying his country and turning them all into gays,” Mitchell said during the podcast.
Mitchell was denounced by White who called Hitler “one of the most disgusting and evil human beings to ever walk the Earth, and anyone that even tries to take an opposing position is a moron.”
“I’ve heard a lot of dumb and ignorant s‑‑‑ said over the years, but this is probably the worst,” White said last Thursday. “First of all, when you talk about Hitler, he was responsible for the death of 6 million Jews, and it was his intent to completely eliminate the Jewish people. And that’s a guy you would want to go fishing with?”
White said that Mitchell will not face any disciplinary measures, referring to “free speech.”
Mitchell has a 17-3 professional record. The 30-year-old won his last bout in December against Kron Gracie.
