Fans and fighters react to Tony Kelley's controversial "dirty f***ing Brazilians" comment in Andrea Lee's corner at UFC Fight Night

Tony Kelley gets backlash for his comments during Andrea Lee's fight [Photo via @tonykelleymma on Instagram]

Andrea Lee's partner and coach Tony Kelley was caught channeling his inner Colby Covington during the broadcast of UFC Fight Night: Blachowicz vs. Rakic.

Lee faced Brazil's Viviane Araujo on the preliminary card of Saturday's event. After the opening round, Lee went to her corner and complained about her opponent allegedly cheating. At that point, Kelley was heard telling Lee:

"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."

Check out the clip below:

@windowglue @bullyb170 https://t.co/Y2BoxuNz1l

Kelley's racially charged comments were reminiscent of Covington's infamous post-fight speech at UFC 225. After beating Rafael dos Anjos in front of his hometown, 'Chaos' proceeded to insult the crowd by calling Brazil a "dump" and its people "filthy animals."

Needless to say, Kelley drew backlash from fans and fighters alike. Here's how the MMA community reacted to Kelley's questionable cornering during Araujo vs. Lee.

MMA Twitter reacts to Tony Kelley's comments during Viviane Araujo vs. Andrea Lee

Viviane Araujo and Andrea Lee put on a tremendous show during their women's flyweight scrap. Ultimately, 'Vivi' was able to convince all three judges to give her the nod after 15 minutes of action.

However, the fight was at the center of the conversation, not because of the action, but due to Tony Kelley's remarks. Up-and-coming bantamweight Adrian Yanez pointed out the obvious. He hopped on social media to say:

😬😬😬
Not a good look.

Meanwhile, Brazilians Gilbert Burns and Cris Cyborg understandably felt slighted by Kelley's comments. Burns appeared to have wanted to teach Kelley a lesson himself, while Cyborg congratulated Araujo on her victory.

Tony do you even fight bro? twitter.com/aaronbronstete…

“That's what they're going to do”…Congratulations @ViviAraujoMMA obrigado por calar essa boca do treinador gringo @canalCombate

Meanwhile, No.5-ranked UFC middleweight Belal Muhammad pointed out that Lee keeps associating herself with problematic men. Lee's ex-husband Donny Aaron, was arrested on charges of domestic violence. Not to mention that he infamously has a swastika tattoo on his forearm.

Ok that corner work was terrible Lee keeps dating racists

MMA journalist Aaron Bronsteter of TSN called Kelley's cornering unacceptable, while media member E. Spencer Kyte pointed out that Kelley's advice was unhelpful.

Tony Kelley in the corner: "That's what they're going to do, they're dirty f*cking Brazilians, they're going to f*cking cheat like that."

Unacceptable...

“She’s just trying to weigh you down and hold; that’s all she’s got.”

Yeah, and your girl ain’t got anything to counter it, Tony. #UFCVegas54

Finally, a handful of fans came to Araujo's defense. They insisted that the Brazilian never used underhanded tactics at any point in the fight.

@aaronbronsteter @BloodyElbow What was the complaint about? What was the alleged cheating?

@aaronbronsteter Yeah I’m not sure if he meant dirty as in cheating and not dirty in relation to the ethnicity. Not a good look regardless

@aaronbronsteter Angela intentionally gauged Vivianne's eyes and nose to try and escape bottom in round 2 🤦‍♂️ https://t.co/obAc4dMFbi