UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione is under fire and suspension as a result of hateful comments he made about transgender fighter Fallon Fox

By Joshua Molina

Matt Mitrione, welcome to corporate America in 2013.

Mitrione is in big trouble for his comments about transgendered fighter Fallon Fox, born a man, but now a woman.  Mitrione said on television that Fox is a “lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak.”  Looks like he spits venom as hard as he throws punches.

Mitrione is entitled to his opinion, but he is not entitled to bully people by calling them names just because they are different.  If he feels that way, he needs to keep his mouth shut.

The UFC is a business and it won’t tolerate in 2013 anything that would bring it bad press or hurt potential sponsorship dollars.  UFC is currently trying to get MMA legal in New York and Mitrione’s comments only hurt that effort.

Last Sunday, the WWE staged WrestleMania 29 in front of 80,000 people, many of them children.  It’s WWE champion John Cena wears a “Rise Above Hate” shirt and the WWE actively takes part in anti-bullying campaigns.

The WWE knows that family entertainment sells. As long as the UFC’s fighters spew hateful language like Mitrione’s, it will never be “mainstream.”  Mitrione needs to realize that he only has a platform to speak because the UFC allows him one.  He’s there to promote the UFC and his fights. If he doesn’t do that, he won’t be around very much longer.