“I've heard a lot of dumb, ignorant shit in my day, but this one's probably the worst.”
That’s what Dana White said in response to recent comments made by UFC featherweight Bryce Mitchell about Adolf Hitler during an episode of his podcast.
“I honestly think that Hitler was a good guy, based upon my own research, not my public education, indoctrination,” Mitchell said in a zigzagging conversation with Roli Delgado, a retired UFC fighter and current MMA trainer. “I really do think that before Hitler got on meth, he was a guy to go fishing with.”
Mitchell also expressed skepticism about the historical accuracy of the Holocaust in Europe during the 1940s.
“Hitler is one of the most disgusting and evil human beings to walk the face of the Earth and anyone that even tries to take an opposing position is a moron,” White said in front of reporters Thursday in Saudi Arabia. “That's the problem with the internet and social media, you provide a platform for a lot of dumb, ignorant people. We've obviously reached out to Bryce and when we read what he said and let him know what we feel about it, we are beyond disgusted.”
White was asked about Mitchell’s comments during a Power Slap press conference, however the UFC president is also in Riyadh for Saturday’s Fight Night event headlined by Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov.
Mitchell also did clarify during his rant: “I’m not a Nazi. I don’t love Nazis. I don’t want Nazis to win the war.”
When asked if Mitchell would face any discipline for his comments, White said: “That's what everybody wants to hear about, punishment. It's free speech, 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 who 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 (his comments).”
White then took the opportunity to express his opinion that Mitchell, to put it lightly, lacks intelligence and then referenced a gruesome self-induced injury Mitchell sustained in 2018.
“He's probably one of the dumbest human beings,” White began. “Let's not forget that this is a guy who took a drill through his nutsack then had to reverse it and pull the drill back out. That's the level of stupid that we're talking about, and I could probably go on for 10 minutes talking about how dumb Bryce Mitchell is.”
When asked if Mitchell had apologized during their conversation, White answered: “His thing was, ‘I’m sorry if I put you guys in any position.’ He’s stupid. He’s dumb. You can’t fix dumb people. When you have somebody that’s really, really stupid, and that’s what we’re talking about here, what do you do? How do you talk sense to a dummy? You don’t.”
Mitchell is currently the No. 13-ranked contender in the 145-pound division. The 30-year-old from Arkansas is 8-2 in the UFC coming off a knockout win over Kron Gracie at UFC 310 in December. His two career losses were a 2022 submission loss to reigning champion Ilia Topuria and a 2023 knockout loss to No. 8-ranked Josh Emmett.