UFC 293: Fighter apologizes for calling crowd homophobic slur after debut win
Charles Radtke began his UFC career with a win and a loss at UFC 293 on Sunday in Sydney.
The win came first, in the more conventional form. The welterweight made his UFC debut with a unanimous decision win over Mike "Blood Diamond" Mathetha to improve his career record to 8-3.
He then sustained the most self-inflicted of wounds during his postfight interview with ESPN's Daniel Cormier, when he reacted to a booing crowd — which was partial to Mathetha, who is based in New Zealand — by calling them a homophobic slur, among other things:
"F*** all you f*****s up in the f***ing crowd. Come down here and get some you p****-ass b****. F*** you."
You can see video here.
A couple hours later, Radtke was posting an apology on social media, calling the slurs "not a reflection of who I am" and blaming his emotions after the win.
My sincere apologies to all of you watching today #ChuckBuffalo @danawhite @seanshelby @espn @espnmma @ufc pic.twitter.com/jXE9uO1JsU
— Charles Radtke (@ChuckBuffaloMMA) September 10, 2023
Past UFC precedent indicates that Radtke probably doesn't have to worry too much about sanctions from the promotion. Nate Diaz received a $20,000 fine and a three-month suspension for using the same slur on Twitter. UFC president Dana White himself used the word publicly while criticizing a reporter in 2009 and later apologized.
As remorseful as Radtke appeared on social media, the lesson apparently didn't take. Manel Kape, another UFC fighter, used a similar slur to describe a rival's team during an interview on the main card. Kape later apologized.
Manel Kape apologizes for using a homophobic slur in his post-fight interview:
"I am sorry for that, it was emotional, during the interviews we are all emotional and we say things that we didn't want to say, so for those who feel bad about that, I apologize."— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 10, 2023
