UFC featherweight Bryce Mitchell issued a public apology on Saturday for his controversial comments defending Adolf Hitler and denying the Holocaust during a podcast earlier this week. His remarks, which included calling Hitler “a good guy” and claiming the Holocaust never happened, quickly sparked outrage across social media and from various communities.
Mitchell, acknowledging the harm his words caused, apologized on his Instagram, writing, “I’m sorry I sounded offensive. I definitely was not trying to offend anybody, but I know I did.”
His statements drew the ire of UFC President Dana White, who condemned them as “dumb and ignorant” but did not take immediate disciplinary action. The remarks also caught the attention of UFC fighter and Israeli national, Natan Levy, who directly challenged Mitchell to face him in person.
Levy, a French-born Israeli, took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to criticize Mitchell, calling his comments “crazy” and accusing the fighter of using his platform to “spread hate and division.” Levy expressed disbelief that someone blessed with “so much success and opportunity” would choose to perpetuate such offensive rhetoric.
In a pointed challenge, Levy offered Mitchell two options for their next encounter: “Next time you see me, you’re welcome to have a real conversation and actually learn about Judaism, our history, and culture, firsthand,” Levy wrote. “Or, if you’d rather, you can call me a greedy Jew to my face, and we’ll see what’s up.”
Mitchell, who had previously dismissed the Holocaust and defended Hitler, responded with an apology, stating, “I know a lot of people died in the Holocaust, and that’s a fact. Hitler did a lot of evil things, I think we can all agree on that. I’m definitely not a Nazi, and definitely do not condone any of the evil things Hitler did.”
Mitchell further stated that moving forward, he would be more careful in discussing sensitive topics, adding, “In the future I will be much more considerate [when] talking about the suffering of all peoples.”
Despite his apology, Mitchell’s comments continue to reverberate through the UFC community and beyond. His future with the organization remains uncertain, as he has yet to be scheduled for another fight.