Dana White strongly condemned Bryce Mitchell for praising Hitler and making antisemitic and homophobic comments, but the UFC president will not punish the fighter.
On a recent podcast, Mitchell claimed Hitler was a “good guy based on my own research” and denied the Holocaust by saying “there’s no possible way they could’ve burned and cremated 6 million bodies, you’re going to realize the Holocaust ain’t real.”
While meeting with the media before a Power Slap event, White opened his press conference by addressing Mitchell’s comments.
Dana White on Bryce Mitchell’s comments:
I’ve heard a lot of dumb, ignorant shit in my day, but this one’s probably the worst. pic.twitter.com/WMfOfEjI5l
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) January 30, 2025
“I’ve heard a lot of dumb and ignorant sh*t in my day, but this one is probably the worst,” White said. “When you talk about Hitler, he was responsible for the death of six million Jews and he tried to completely eliminate a race of people. World War II was the deadliest war in history. 15 million military deaths, 45 million civilians and 25 million soldiers were killed in World War II.
“Second of all, Hitler is one of the most disgusting and evil human beings to ever walk the face of the Earth, and anyone that even tries to take an opposing position is a moron. That’s the problem with the internet and social media. You provide a platform for a lot of dumb and ignorant people. We’ve obviously reached out to Bryce when we read what he said and let him know how we feel about it. We’re beyond disgusted.”
White then opened the press conference up for questions, with the first one coming from a reporter who asked whether Mitchell would face disciplinary action for his dumb and ignorant words.
“It’s free speech,” White said. “I don’t have to love it. You don’t have to love it…That’s the beautiful thing about this business, for all of you that hate Bryce Mitchell, you get to see him hopefully get his ass whooped on global television. What do you want me to say about it? You know where I am with free speech.
“We’re disgusted by it. I think he’s literally one of the dumbest human beings…That’s the world that we live in now. Dumb people, people who are really stupid and really ignorant can have a voice. We don’t have to agree with it, we don’t have to like it. I’m giving you mine and the UFC’s position on what he had to say…you can’t fix dumb people…how do you talk sense to a dummy?”
White has leaned into free speech in the past regarding fighters making ignorant statements. But if Mitchell’s words can just be excused as free speech without any disciplinary action, then it all but confirms there is no line that fighters can’t cross.
Would a suspension help the situation or enlighten Mitchell? Probably not. Would a meeting with the Anti-Defamation League (assuming they’re willing) help? White doesn’t seem to think so. But an argument can certainly be made that Mitchell doesn’t deserve the privilege of profiting off the UFC.
