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The MMA competitor had harsh words for the haters when he drew criticism for wearing rainbow shorts in support of Pride Month.
UFC fighter Jeff Molina got fiery in his defense of the LGBTQ+ community and his decision to wear Pride-themed shorts during his fight on Saturday after it drew hateful comments from the sport's fans.
The backlash began June 1 when the flyweight fighter posted a video of the new shots on Twitter saying, "Pretty sick the @ufc is letting us rep for pride month!! Get your pride gear @ufcstore," with a fist bump and Pride flag emoji. The UFC also released a Pride Month tee with proceeds supporting The Center, an LGBTQ+ center in Southern Nevada.
\u201cPretty sick the @ufc is letting us rep for pride month!! Get your pride gear @ufcstore \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udc4a\u201d— Jeff Molina (@Jeff Molina) 1654119211
While some fans were vocally upset about Molina's allyship, others were excited by the fighter's support of the LGBTQ+ community -- and took the opportunity to shoot their shot with him, while he let them down gently.
"To all the dudes sliding in my DM's I'm a straight guy but pshhh I'm flattered! For all the homophobic dudes upset by me repping pride month on my fight kit y'all some fruit cups," he tweeted.
Undeterred by the backlash, Molina wore his rainbow shorts during his bout against Zhalgas Zhumagulov in Las Vegas on Saturday, which he won.
The subject of the shorts and fan reaction came up during the post-fight press briefing. Molina didn't hold back on his thoughts about the hate and hypocrisy of those who oppose his support of the LGBTQ+ community.
\u201cJeff Molina goes *off* about the negative comments he received for wearing UFC's pride month shorts.\n\n"I just thought in 2022 people would be a little more open-minded and not pieces of sh*t. But I guess I was wrong."\n\n#UFCVegas56 | Full video: https://t.co/mOxnqIFGCb\u201d— MMA Junkie (@MMA Junkie) 1654390671
"You're gonna get me riled up. Dude, it's f***ing ridiculous," Molina began. "Man, who'd have thunk it, in 2022 ... Who the f**k cares, bro? It's not even about being an ally -- I'm not saying I'm not -- but it's just like, just be a decent f***ing person. Just be a decent human being. Judging someone, and then trying to justify it with religion, and saying all sorts of spiteful, hateful shit is crazy to me. It's mind-boggling."
"Who cares who someone wants to be with, their sexual preference, and then the irony of trying to justify it with religion of something that's supposed to be so accepting. You're going to get me going on a tangent, man. I was honestly shocked," he added.
Molina went on to explain how the decision to wear the shorts came about. "I picked the colors because I thought it looked cool, and then also it supports a good cause. I'll support anything of a community that's been oppressed and ostracized for some time for something they can't help. I'll get behind any of that," the fighter explained.
"It wasn't that long ago that there was school segregation, and that was like less than a person ago, man, that wasn't that long ago. And the same thing with something like Stonewall, that was like 50 years ago. That's not even a whole person ago, man - this is like recent s**t," Molina continued. "I just thought in 2022 people would be a little more open-minded and not pieces of s**t, but I guess I was wrong. It's just crazy to me."
"People were saying some crazy shit and like, dude, what would you do if your kid's gay? And people trying to justify it like god is going to send you to [hell]," he added in frustration. "Dude, mind your own business, it doesn't concern you. Get f**ked."
