Michael Bisping was caught uttering a homophobic remark on a hot mic during the UFC 298 broadcast on Saturday.
After Illia Topuria defeated Alexander Volkanovski in the main event, Bisping weighed in, saying “15-0, undefeated, 13 stoppages. What a guy, what a night, UFC 298, Anaheim, California. Certainly one for the books.”
He must have thought the broadcast cut to commercial, because immediately after, he mocked his own comments — which aired on Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
“What a guy? That’s f*cking gay,” he said in disgust.
While Bisping was seen holding a mic with an ESPN mic flag, the fight did on air on the Worldwide Leader.
ESPN responded to Outsports saying that Bisping was “not employed” by them on that evening, and the incident was put on SportsCenter throughout the weekend even though it did not air on ESPN.
Bisping is a former UFC Champion and it isn’t his first time saying something homophobic. He insulted a previous opponent by calling him a homophobic slur, and tweeted using homophobic language. Bisping was previously caught on a hot mic in 2016 in a post-fight press conference. After saying it, he admitted he shouldn’t have, and then told the media to “delete that comment.”
Since the incident, he has not apologized, nor has the UFC. Free speech has been a recent debate in the UFC, after Sean Strickland went on an anti-LGBTQ rant last month and UFC president Dana White defended him.
Original source here
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