Recently dethroned middleweight champion Sean Strickland has ruffled a lot of feathers during his time in the UFC with his outspoken and often controversial opinions, but while Dana White says he doesn’t agree with most of what he says, he’s still sticking to his opinion that everyone should be entitled to freedom of speech.
“People get p*ssed off, people get offended, people get this and that. We just had it happen with Sean Strickland,” White said on The Truth podcast.
“We’re up in Canada. Sean Strickland said a lot of things. I don’t agree with 95% of what this guy says but it’s his right to say it. And if you don’t like it, tune in on Saturday night, he’s going to be getting punched in the face.”
“If you don’t like him, you get to see him get punched in the face. So, there you go. Don’t get too upset and don’t take it too serious.”
White went on to discuss other examples of UFC fighter’s exercising their right to freedom of speech in recent years to further emphasize his hands-off approach to the subject.
“We had a guy early on when the Covid thing started, Tyron Woodley. He came out and black lives matter everything. I think he had black lives matter socks on. He was covered head to toe in black lives matter.
“At the press conference leading up to his fight, they would ask him a question, he’d say, ‘Black lives matter.’ They’d ask him another, ‘Black lives matter.’ [They] wouldn’t say sh*t to him. No problem.
“Then we got Colby Covington who’s the complete opposite of the spectrum. Whether they’re good or they’re not good, this is America. Everybody can have their own opinion.
“I’m not telling anybody what to do, what to say, what to think, how to feel. We’re human beings in America, do your thing. Knock yourselves out.”
Check out the full podcast below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOvqPdME49E
