Dana White News: UFC President addresses Rachel Ostovich-Greg Hardy controversy
What's the story?
UFC has proved itself to be a progressive space where everyone is treated fairly.
However, recently they had a controversy on their hand when accused domestic abuser Greg Hardy and the survivor of domestic abuse from a separate case, Rachel Ostovich were both placed on the same card.
UFC President, Dana White, took time to talk about the matter, letting his opinion about it be known.
Thanks to MMA Weekly for the heads up.
In case you didn't know...
Rachel Ostovich was recently hospitalized when she was allegedly assaulted by her husband with a broken Orbital bone.
While she got a temporary restraining order against her husband, she was pulled from her fight with Paige Vanzant due to injuries.
Because she insisted on fighting on the card, she was placed back on UFC's first ever broadcast on ESPN+.
It was then announced that Greg Hardy would be debuting on UFC on the same card as her. He had been accused of domestic abuse, but the charge had been removed from his name when his accuser failed to testify.
The heart of the matter
There was a lot of hue and cry from the UFC audience when they realised that Greg Hardy and Rachel Ostovich had been placed on the same card.
They felt that this was in poor taste by the UFC, given Ostovich's history with domestic abuse, and went on to criticise Dana White and the company for the matter.
Since then, White has gone on to say that he talked to Ostovich and the fighter was okay with the entire issue.
“Her take on it was ‘his story isn’t my story, everybody’s story is different and I believe in second chances, I have no problem fighting on the same card as this guy’. He didn’t do anything to Rachael Ostovich."
“She was totally cool with it. So obviously having her support was a key factor in making that decision.”
Given that Ostovich seemingly does not have a problem with the issue at all, White is not going to change the card.
What's next?
Rachel Ostovich not having a problem with the entire matter means that she will still be fighting on the same card as Greg Hardy.
Her ESPN and ESPN+ fight on the UFC will take place on the 19th of January against Paige Vanzant.