MMA

Racist UFC Fighter is Also an Alleged Domestic Abuser!

MMA


We here at Fight State have no illusions about the reality of MMA. We know it’s an ugly business.




While the martial arts can be beautiful, fun, enjoyable and positive, mixed martial arts is a sport. And sports are filled with crappy human beings from the top where there are greedy, cutthroat owners to the very bottom where there are scumbag athletes.

We’d love for MMA to be Shaolin monks doing kata on the Great Wall of China. We really would. But unfortunately, it isn’t.

Anthony Johnson is one of the many guys on the UFC roster that make it morally challenging to watch MMA. Photo by Sherdog.

Anthony Johnson, who plead no contest to domestic violence charges, is one of the many guys on the UFC roster that make it morally challenging to watch MMA. Photo by Sherdog.

The latest example of that is Alex Nicholson. The 26 year old middleweight UFC fighter is the latest fighter to undergo an investigation from the promotion for domestic violence. According to a report by MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi, the fighter got physical with his girlfriend at the time at a 7-11 location in his home state of Florida. According to eye witnesses, he lifted her up and carried her out of the convenience store against her will before dropping her to the ground outside.

This prompted passersby to pull Nicholson off his girlfriend, bring her back into the 7-11, and lock the door. The store attendant then called 911 and stated “One of the customers just committed domestic violence. One of the customers just committed domestic violence inside the store.”

Nicholson has a 1-1 UFC record, with a loss to Misha Circunov and a win over Devin Clark. Photo by Sherdog.

Nicholson has a 1-1 UFC record, with a loss to Misha Circunov and a win over Devin Clark. Photo by Sherdog.

Unfortunately, as with many other domestic violence cases, the victim refused to cooperate with authorities on the case. “The trial was set for Aug. 2,” Starke told Raimondi. “The victim told us she couldn’t make that date, so we asked the judge to move it to the following day. She was aware the trial date was moved by one day to accommodate her as her testimony was crucial to the case. At trial, she did not appear.”

The UFC has stated that they are launching an investigation into the incident. Judging from their lack of action against fighters in similar situations like BJ Penn, Anthony Johnson and Travis Browne, it’s unlikely that anything is going to come of it.

This isn't the first time Nicholson has gotten in trouble. Photo by Sherdog.

This isn’t the first time Nicholson has gotten in trouble. Photo by Sherdog.

If Nicholson’s name sounds familiar, that’s because you may have read about him recently in a different article. Last month, Nicholson found himself in hot water for making a racist comment on-air during a bout between Hyun-Gyu Lim and Mike Perry. Nicholson, who was cornering Perry, stated “he can’t even open his motherf—ing eyes, boy,” jeering his teammate’s Korean opponent.

Nicholson would issue a half-hearted apology on Twitter. The UFC, meanwhile, would offer no punishment, simply saying that they may take action if he does it again.

This is a sad installment in what the UFC has become in 2016. While the company was once proactive in terms of keeping fighters in line, they have since become willing to let anything slide with any fighter. The fact that they’re willing to ignore so much for an entry-level fighter like Nicholson, and do so much to keep him, is disappointing.

Read MMA Fighting’s full report on his domestic violence incident.


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