The bad news is that Cody Durden decided to celebrate his win over Aoriqileng with a racist outburst. The American decided to indulge in a bit of good old fashioned xenophobia at UFC Vegas 43 telling the world that,
“I had to send him back to China where he came from.”
The good news is that nobody else seemed to be on board with Durden’s racism. MMA fans were u tied in their disapproval and Daniel Cormier couldn’t get the microphone away from the American quickly enough.
UAE Warriors veteran Casey O’Neill captured the mood quite nicely with her Tweet:
FUCK CODY DURDEN! Racism is never cool POS #ufcvegas43
— Casey Oneill (@kingcaseymma) November 20, 2021
Durden belatedly tried to apologize but didn’t do a particularly good job of it. This Tweet is unlikely to do much to dispel the notion that the 30 year old is a bit of a racist.
Listen, the guy was disrespectful, and wouldn’t shake my hand at the weigh ins. After beating him, I simply meant he could go home wherever that may have been. I apologize if I offended anyone, that certainly was not my intention!! I love you all! See you at the top. @ufc
— Cody Durden (@Cody_Durden) November 20, 2021
So all in all a mixed weekend for the American. In the one hand he claimed his first ever UFC win but on the other he alienated large swathes of the promotion’s fanbase and fighters with his racist outburst.
