"He shouldn't have to censor himself" - Brendan Schaub suggests UFC stop micing octagon after Tony Kelley's controversial statement about Brazilians
In the aftermath of Tony Kelley's controversial comments on UFC Fight Night: Blachowicz vs. Rakic, Brendan Schaub stated that coaches and cornermen should not be put in a position where they have to censor themselves while giving advice to fighters.
Kelley, of course, received backlash online for his "dirty f***ing Brazilians" comment during last Saturday's bout between Viviane Araujo and his partner, Andrea Lee. After the first round, Lee complained to her corner about an alleged eye-poke, to which Kelley replied:
"That's what they're gonna do. They're dirty f***ing Brazilians, they're gonna f***ing cheat like that. But guess what? We came to f*** somebody up and we will oblige. You understand? We have better everything than her."
Watch the clip below:
As far as Schaub is concerned, however, coaches should not have to worry about cancel culture while doing their jobs. During an episode of The Schaub Show, the former UFC heavyweight opined:
"I'm sure he could've said it in other ways, [but] he shouldn't have to censor himself inside that octagon. If this becomes a thing, the UFC should not mic up that octagon or play it after the fact. Edit it out and play it. 'Cause these guys shouldn't be worried about, 'Man, if I say something that people don't like, I'm gonna get criticism.' Because then the coaches are going to censor themselves."
Check out Brendan Schaub's comments below:
Tony Kelley responds to his critics
Tony Kelley broke his silence to respond to his critics online. Taking to Twitter to address his controversial comments, the UFC bantamweight fighter wrote:
"Cancel Culture is real. What I said was real and in the heat of battle, and in no way had any type of racist connotations meant…but if that’s the way you take it, idgaf. So many people quick to say racist..that sh*ts getting so old. My reference was to a dirty eye poke."
Andrea Lee went on to lose a unanimous decision to Viviane Araujo on Saturday night, snapping her two-fight win streak. 'KGB' has not publicly commented on the fight or her coach's comments.