UFC featherweight Bryce Mitchell has apologised for sounding “insensitive” in comments on his podcast which came to light last week in which he stated his belief that Adolf Hitler was a “good guy.”
Mitchell, 30, generated international headlines with a prolonged statement on the first episode of his podcast alongside former UFC fighter Roli Delgago in which he appeared to undermine the Holocaust and state that Hitler had justifiable reasons for his actions before and during World War II.
“I’m sorry I sounded insensitive,” Mitchell wrote in a statement published online.
“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 agree on that. I’m definitely not a Nazi, and definitely do not condone any of the evil things Hitler did.”
Speaking after the furore while in Riyadh late last week, UFC boss Dana White said that Mitchell’s comments were the most “dumb and ignorant shit” he had heard but reiterated his stance that the organisation does not intervene in issues of free speech and that it won’t be taking an disciplinary measures against the fighter.
“First of all, when you talk about Hitler, he was responsible for the death of six million Jews and it was his intent to completely eliminate the Jewish people,” White said last week. “And that’s a guy you would want to go fishing with? And think about this, when you look at [World War II], it was the deadliest war in human history. In its entirety, you’re talking about a war that resulted in 15 million military deaths, and 45 million civilian deaths. That doesn’t include at least another 25 million soldiers that were wounded.
“Second of all, Hitler is 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. That’s the problem with the internet and social media.
“You provide a platform to a lot of dumb and ignorant people. We reached out to Bryce immediately when we read what he said, and let him know exactly how we felt about it. But what he said was beyond disgusting and he needs a real education on the facts surrounding Hitler and WWII.”
