During UFC 298, eyes recently turned toward former UFC superstar, Michael Bisping, who was caught on a hot mic making a distasteful, homophobic comment.
The MMA veteran was caught off-guard as his inappropriate remark reverberated across the ESPN network where he works as an analyst.
UFC analyst Michael Bisping caught on hot mic making homophobic comment https://t.co/ZXDkpD9Ck9 pic.twitter.com/gyrRAlFJlE
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 20, 2024
While discussing the events of the night, Bisping remarked, “What a guy,” in reference to one of the night’s fighters.
The camera feed didn’t cut immediately after Bisping’s segment, catching the seasoned commentator off-guard.
To the shock of many, the hot mic captured Bisping criticizing his own comment, uttering a homophobic slur.
What a guy @bisping is… pic.twitter.com/d3iQx7xcDq
— LukeBarnatt (@BarnattOfficial) February 19, 2024
“What a guy?’ That’s ‘f–king gay,” Bisping said. “Bye bye.”
Despite the significant backlash, Bisping has stayed noticeably quiet about his controversial comments on his social media platforms.
His multiple tweets on Sunday seemed to purposely neglect to address what transpired on Saturday night, further fueling criticism.
This isn’t the debut occasion for Bisping’s casual use of homophobic remarks. He found himself in hot water as far back as 2016 when the former UFC champion used an anti-gay slur against his adversary, Luke Rockhold.
“Go f–k yourself … f–king c–ksucker,” Bisping said before adding: “F—-t.”
Later realizing his blunder, Bisping semi-jokingly asked the media to erase his hateful comment.
“S–t, I shouldn’t have said that,” before telling the media to “delete that comment.”
Moreover, he also utilized a similar derogatory term during a verbal spat with competitor Jorge Rivera leading to UFC 127.
A promo video for UFC captured his brash language use.
“f—-t motherf–ker,”
However, Bisping has not publically apologized for his comments nor have there been repercussions from UFC.
Incidents of homophobic slurs in UFC aren’t limited to Bisping alone. Just last month, controversial remarks made by Sean Strickland sparked a heated debate about whether UFC takes hate speech seriously.
UFC’s president Dana White defended Strickland.
No formal action has been instigated post Bisping’s recent blunder. Reach by ESPN or UFC for comments on this ongoing issue has been in vain.
An explicit, firm stance from UFC against such derogatory remarks is yet to be seen.
