Dana White defended a Christian fighter who took a Bible into the octagon after reporters tried to get the UFC president to chastise the athlete for bringing religion in front of the audience. White was quick to push back against the idea that he had any right to tell a fighter to hide his religious beliefs for the sake of making non-believers uncomfortable.
Bryce Mitchell, a fighter in the UFC, made an exciting entrance to his September 23 fight against Dan Ige when he brought a copy of the Holy Bible along during his walk to the octagon. Upon entering the cage, Mitchell began showing the Bible proudly to all of the fans in attendance and to the audience watching at home as he shouted “freedom” while his name was being announced.
Ardyoungin shared a clip of the entrance to X.
this is the funniest thing i’ve ever seen while watching ufc and i’m not kidding #UFCVegas79 pic.twitter.com/VQxELOmmW9
— jrap (@ardyoungin) September 24, 2023
The media, however, wanted to turn this into more of a story than it should be. Even though this is a simple proclamation of faith before a fight, something that fighters do all the time in the privacy of the locker room, UFC President Dana White was asked about the entrance in a press event following the fight.
He said, “I got no reaction. You know how I am here. Whatever you’re into, man. There’s no muzzles here … whoever you are, whatever you believe, whatever you think, we’ve heard it all, seen it all — well, we think we have, who knows what’s next — but this is one of those places where you say what you feel and you say what you want, and it’s all good with me.”
A clip of Dana White’s answer was shared to X by mmamania.
Dana White on Bryce Mitchell bringing his bible into the cage pic.twitter.com/0Rfd5ENx5v
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) September 27, 2023
Bryce Mitchell has endeared himself to Christian fans of mixed martial arts throughout his career, as the fighter has consistently defended his Faith in front of the media and other fighters. Bringing a Bible into the ring was yet another unashamed show of Love for God, who Mitchell believes is the reason that he made it to the UFC.
Shouting “freedom” in the face of the camera was another amazing touch to the entrance. While many in America have grown to see Christianity as oppressive and view the Bible as simply a strict rulebook, Mitchell used his stage to share that Faith in God is really just the first and only step in earning true freedom for one’s soul.
Mitchell is 16-2 in his UFC career, putting him firmly in the category of fighters that the Ultimate Fighting Championship would like to keep around for a long time. His gritty persona on the mat matches his passion for Jesus. He has a background in wrestling, which is made evident by his fighting style in mixed martial arts, where he always tries to bring his opponent to the ground for grappling.
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