By Cassandra Cousineau for LVSportsBiz.com
UFC returned to its Apex building in Las Vegas Saturday night, staging its second card since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd while being detained by police in Minneapolis two weeks ago today.
And it didn’t take long for a UFC fighter to make a statement during the promotion’s live event.
Light heavyweight Devin Clark took a knee and raised a fist during his introduction in the Octagon during his fight in the prelims of UFC 250 before he fought Alonzo Menifield as Black Lives Matter protests continued coast-to-coast in large cities and small towns.
Clark earned his second win in a unanimous decision over Menifield, improving his record to 12-4. After the decision was announced, Clark, a Sioux Falls, Iowa native, stood with his cornermen with all their fists raised. His opponent — Menifield– mourned 18 years ago when Menifield’s father was killed by an LAPD officer during a highway confrontation in 2002.
With ESPN broadcasting the UFC 250 prelims, Clark’s visual support was one of the highest profile MMA fighter gestures of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and protests against racism being held worldwide.
But there was more that night. Bantamweight contenders Aljamain Sterling, of Jamaican descent, and Alex Caceres, an African American, spoke in support of protests in their post-fight press conferences. Both were victorious in their respective matches. Both were asked about whether they believe UFC did a good enough job pushing black fighters. Here’s Caceres, then Sterling:
Since the death of Floyd, recognizable UFC names like Jon Jones and the Notorious one, Conor McGregor, have spoken out on social media and in middleweight champion Israel Adesanya’s case, have joined protests as a supportive ally.
Just one day before UFC 250, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell declared the league would be part of “much needed change in this country.”
In his video, Goodell said, “We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people. We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter. I personally protest with you, and want to be part of the much-needed change in this country.”
In light of the largest, most powerful sports league in the United States making such a powerful statement, LVSportsBiz.com asked UFC founder and president Dana White if his organization was prepared to make a statement about the protests or more specifically the state of racism in this country. The blunt-speaking White, who never shies from telling it like it is, was unequivocally supportive of his fighter’s rights to use social media and their platform in any way to express their opinions.
After having a bit of trouble hearing the question in a room with about a dozen media, White said, “I would never try to tell somebody how to express themselves whether it’s fear, anger, or whatever that might be. And the beautiful thing about America is everybody can, in however they want to.”
He stopped short of saying the promotion would issue a statement specifically in relation to the protests or reasons why they were occurring. White’s response to LVSportsBiz.com:
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