UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell has broken his silence in the wake of controversy stemming from pro-Adolf Hitler comments he recently made on the premiere episode of his own podcast.
“I’m sorry I sounded insensitive,” Mitchell wrote in an Instagram post Saturday. “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.”
The statement Mitchell issued Saturday contrasted with those he made in the “ArkanSanity Podcast,” podcast episode that sparked controversy, during which he called Hitler “a good guy.”
Mitchell’s comments drew criticism in the international spotlight, with UFC CEO Dana White among the most publicly vocal detractors. White said the promotion was “disgusted” by Mitchell’s praise of Hitler and called Mitchell “literally one of the dumbest human beings.”
Though Mitchell condemned Hitler in the statement Saturday, he praised Hitler when discussing Elon Musk’s recent controversial hand gesture at a Donald Trump rally with co-host and former UFC fighter Rolando Delgado on the podcast episode that released Thursday.
“I really don’t think that he was, because I honestly think that Hitler was a good guy based upon my own research, not my public education,” Mitchell said. “… 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. They were gaying out the kids. They were queering out the women. They were queering out the dudes.
“Do you know where the first tranny surgery ever was? Happened to be in Germany before Hitler took over. You know the books that everybody makes fun of Hitler burning? You know what the books was? Queer books! Hitler burned queer books because Hitler didn’t want a bunch of queers destroying his nation. They can’t produce children.”
Delgado also issued a statement Saturday on Facebook, in which he apologized for promoting the podcast and not more clearly disagreeing with Mitchell’s stance during their conversation.
“Freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from the consequences from that speech and he is experiencing that as am I by association and for promoting the conversation,” Delgado wrote. “I’m deeply sorry to people that I’ve let down or affected by this.”
Though his criticism of Mitchell was harsh and decisive, and came without prompt, White said the promotion will not discipline Mitchell for his comments, in line with the promotion’s unofficial policy of allowing fighters to say whatever they want in the name of “free speech.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Bryce Mitchell issues statement after pro-Hitler comments: ‘I’m definitely not a Nazi’
