Paulo Costa and 4 other UFC fighters with controversial political opinions
UFC fighters are known for many things. As the world's premier mixed martial artists, they are celebrated for their world-class skills inside the octagon. Two-time UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson is a paragon of martial arts, as are the likes of former UFC champions Georges St-Pierre and Lyoto Machida.
Other fighters are better known for their vitriolic trash talk. Perhaps no mixed martial artist fits this description better than former lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor. The success spawned by the Irishman's trash talk led to an entire generation of fighters eager to copy 'The Notorious' and his antics in a bid to replicate his monetary success.
However, among these fighters are those who make headlines for expressing controversial political opinions, whether its due to their support for a polarizing politician or their beliefs surrounding politically-charged conspiracy theories. This list looks at 5 such UFC fighters.
#5. Rose Namajunas
After defeating Jéssica Andrade in a rematch of their UFC 237 encounter, Rose Namajunas sought to recapture the UFC strawweight champion from Zhang Weili, China's first-ever UFC champion. However, in the leadup to their UFC 261 matchup, 'Thug Rose' brought up the topic of communism and made Zhang Weili, a fighter who has never spoken of political affairs, the face of the controversial ideology.
'Better Dead than Red': UFC's Rose Namajunas Defends Anti-Communist Comments Ahead of Zhang Weili Fight
political-viewer.com/2021-04-15/bet… https://t.co/TJbp3B948q
During an interview with a Lithuanian outlet, Namajunas exclaimed a saying oft-repeated during the Cold War era, stating that it's better to be "dead than red" before describing Zhang Weili as red. Furthermore, 'Thug Rose' claimed to be representing freedom, Jesus and the American Dream. Namajunas was widely criticized for her remarks, yet she remained defiant, claiming to be upholding beliefs rooted in her Lithuanian ancestry. She would go on to defeat Weili in back to back bouts.