Ex-UFC star Nate Marquardt stands by homophobic tweet, believes he's fighting "evil in the media"
MMA veteran Nate Marquardt recently stirred outrage with an angry, homophobic diatribe that shocked the MMA world. The MMA community at large has labeled the former Strikeforce welterweight champion as "homophobic," which refers to a wide variety of prejudices and negative opinions towards homosexuality.
It all started with an advertisement on ESPN+ during the broadcast of UFC Vegas 69 that showed two men kissing. The commercial offended Marquardt, who was watching the UFC event with his family. The religiously outspoken Marquardt took to Twitter to express his disdain for the commercial.
Wow disgusting commercial watching @ESPNPlus with my kids and have to tell them to look away so they don’t see two men kissing! 🤮
@ufc @espn #barf #disgusting
At a time when a global divide still exists over the admission of LGBTQ communities, fans were understandably horrified by Nate Marquardt's alarming comments. Several media outlets slammed Marquardt, who has also contested 25 times under the UFC banner.
Despite significant advancements in LGBTQ rights across the world, society's acceptance of homosexuality remains starkly split. According to Marquardt, a devout Christian, homosexual conduct is immoral or sinful.
Nate Marquardt defended his stance on Twitter by stressing that his statements were not intended to be hateful, but rather aimed at eradicating cancel culture:
"Hey @MMAJunkie thanks for promoting my tweet! 1- it wasn’t hateful 2- it wasn’t unnecessary 3- and hominem attacks on me don’t prove your point. I am standing up against evil in the media where most people are too scared to get canceled."
He further said that it is permissible to speak out against sexual orientation and beliefs that may lead people to damnation:
"It is not hateful to say that homosexuality, pedophilia, or fornication is disgusting. It’s not loving to be silent when the culture praises things that lead people to Hell (1Cor 6:9-11). It’s not hateful, but loving to protect children from this world’s evil demented propaganda."
Check out the tweets below:
Hey @MMAJunkie thanks for promoting my tweet!
1- it wasn’t hateful
2- it wasn’t unnecessary
3- ad hominem attacks on me don’t prove your point
I am standing up against evil in the media where most people are too scared to get canceled.
It is not hateful to say that homosexuality, pedophilia, or fornication is disgusting. It’s not loving to be silent when the culture praises things that lead people to Hell (1Cor 6:9-11). It’s not hateful, but loving to protect children from this world’s evil demented propaganda
This was especially for @MMAJunkie @ufc and @ESPNPlus twitter.com/NathanMarquard…
Nate Marquardt's homophobic rant has been met with surprising support from the MMA community
Nate Marquardt grabbed the headlines during UFC Vegas 69, when he unleashed a shocking homophobic outburst. The 43-year-old was watching the event with his family and saw a commercial on ESPN+ that showed two men kissing, which made him feel disgusted and enraged.
Marquardt resorted to Twitter to express his displeasure with the show. While a majority of fans lambasted Marquardt for his hateful comments, shockingly several fans sided with him despite the polarizing statements.
One wrote:
"Everyone must conform to what ever the mainstream media pushes or else you’re canceled for “hate speech”. Bow down to the agenda , worship their ideologies or ELSE."
@MMAJunkie Everyone must conform to what ever the mainstream media pushes or else you’re canceled for “hate speech”. Bow down to the agenda , worship their ideologies or ELSE .
Another fan wrote:
"So what? He can say and think how he wants"
@MMAJunkie So what. He can say and think how he wants.
Yet another fan shockingly wrote:
"Remember when it was “just accept us for who we are". Now it’s: accept us, or else."
@MMAJunkie Remember when it was “just accept us for who we are”
Now it’s: accept us, or else.
Check out some of the reactions below:
@MMAJunkie I stand with Nate
@MMAJunkie Who does want to watch dudes kiss on TV lol ?
@MMAJunkie Somebody said it. Thank goodness.
@MMAJunkie I support Marquadt.
@MMAJunkie Nate is the man👑
@MMAJunkie He's 100% right.
@MMAJunkie He didn’t say anything wrong.
@MMAJunkie It's funny how much you guys go after Christians for this but khabib and his boys were saying this same sort of stuff in interviews, yall we're quiet 👀
@MMAJunkie He’s totally right!
Accepting something shouldn’t necessarily mean promoting it