‘Beyond disgusted’: Dana White blasts UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell’s praise for Hitler

UFC President Dana White lambasted fighter Bryce Mitchell’s comments in defense of Adolf Hitler on Thursday, saying he was “beyond disgusted” by statements Mitchell made on his podcast earlier in the week.

“I’ve heard a lot of dumb, ignorant s— in my day, but this one’s probably the worst,” White said Thursday night, when he addressed reporters after a Power Slap event in Saudi Arabia. “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. … Hitler was 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.”

Mitchell, speaking on the first episode of his podcast, “ArkanSanity,” called Hitler “a good guy based upon my own research.”

“I really do think before Hitler got on meth, he was a guy to go fishing with,” Mitchell said. “He fought for his country.”

Mitchell went on to make antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ comments while saying Hitler wanted to “purify” Germany.

“Was Hitler perfect? No. But he was fighting for his people,” Mitchell said. He also baselessly claimed the Holocaust was not real, stating “there’s no possible way they could’ve burned and cremated six million bodies.”

Mitchell will not face discipline from UFC, White said, citing free speech.

“I don’t have to love it, you don’t have to love it,” he said.

“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.”

Asked about his conversation with Mitchell, White said Mitchell said he was sorry “if I put you guys in any position,” in reference to UFC.

The UFC doesn’t often discipline fighters for their comments, but White did temporarily cut Miguel Torres from the company in 2011 for an inappropriate tweet. Torres was reinstated less than a month later.

Natan Levy, a UFC fighter who publicly embraces his Jewish heritage, responded to Mitchell’s comments in a pair of Instagram posts Thursday, telling Mitchell he is “welcome to have a real conversation and actually learn about Judaism our history and culture, firsthand.”

Mitchell has made waves in the past with comments that drummed up attention before fights. He previously argued gravity was not real and the Earth was flat. In December, he said he didn’t “believe in seatbelts,” and said the government shouldn’t be able to tell him to what to do.

(Photo: Steve Marcus / Getty Images)