UFC 293 will go down in the history books as a night full of surprises. The biggest shocker came at the main event as Sean Strickland defeated Israel Adesanya to win the UFC middleweight title. However, the title change wasn’t the only shocking aspect of the evening. Two post-fight interviews in the event took an unexpected turn as they featured the use of homophobic slurs.

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The first incident involved rising UFC welterweight Charlie Radtke, who had a successful outing in the early preliminary card. After his hard-fought victory, Radtke inexplicably used homophobic slurs during his post-fight interview. Shortly after, another post-fight interview involving UFC Flyweight Manel Kape took a similar, unfortunate turn. Later, UFC President Dana White addressed both of these incidents.

UFC President Dana White talks about the use of homophobic slurs at UFC 293

In the aftermath of these incidents, Dana White addressed the situation during the post-PPV press conference. White acknowledged the use of homophobic slurs during the post-fight interviews, stating, “That was flying around a little bit tonight. I think these guys get a little excited, and you make bad mistakes.”

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Regarding Charlie Radtke’s post-fight interview, White mentioned that Radtke, of his own accord, took responsibility and issued an apology backstage. “Radtke did the same thing and, you know me, we didn’t run over and say ‘you’d better apologize’. He did that on his own. When he got backstage, he was embarrassed, he got caught up in the moment”. This spontaneous apology, according to White, demonstrated genuine remorse on Radtke’s part.

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“I am not holier than thou either. We’ve all been in positions where we’ve made mistakes and it’s how you recover from it,” he added. The president’s approach to handling the situation demonstrated a combination of understanding and accountability. Further, he emphasized that fighters can get caught up in the moment and make emotional mistakes.

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Manel Kape calls out Kai Kara-France

Kape’s controversial remarks came out when he called UFC flyweight fighter Kai Kara-France out. After his victory, Kape decided to issue a challenge against Kara-France, who was present in attendance. Without hesitating much, he said, “You [Kai Kara-France] are a piece of sh*t. That’s what you are. I’m going to fight you next”.

Things took an uglier turn when Kape talked about fighting Kara-France outside the cage if the latter did not agree to a UFC fight. “If you refuse again to fight me or pull two weeks out from the fight, I’m going to your city. I’m going to your academy, I’m going to spar you there. All your teammates are a bunch of ****.”

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With such a bold callout, fans can expect a fierce rivalry between the two UFC flyweights in the coming weeks. What are your opinions about everything that went down at the UFC 293? Comment down below.

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Sushant Sharma

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Sushant Sharma is a UFC Content Analyst at EssentiallySports. A senior writer with almost 1000 articles under his belt, Sushant is always scanning the MMA landscape for current trends and breaking news. His knowledge and expertise in the sport are well-reflected in the ‘Opinion’ pieces he churns out from time to time. Sushant’s impactful style of writing has earned him a mention from boxing champion turned MMA star Claressa Shields. He is a constant presence in the live coverage team, updating the fans with all the latest news from live events in real time. In his free time, Sushant trains in combat sports and powerlifting. He is an accomplished powerlifter with silver and bronze medals at the State level. You can reach out to him at

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Yeswanth Praveen