UFC cuts Benjamin Brinsa fighter accused of Neo-Nazi sympathies

Damage control. The UFC has terminated the contract of undefeated German Welterweight Benjamin Brinsa following controversy and allegations that Brinsa was an unapologetic neo-nazi.…

By: Nate Wilcox | 10 years ago
UFC cuts Benjamin Brinsa fighter accused of Neo-Nazi sympathies
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Damage control.

The UFC has terminated the contract of undefeated German Welterweight Benjamin Brinsa following controversy and allegations that Brinsa was an unapologetic neo-nazi. Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting reported the news.

When the controversy first came to light, UFC president Dana White made the following comment:

“If he, in any way, shape, or form is involved in racist groups, Neo-Nazi groups, or anything negative like that, he’ll be cut,” White said. “But I don’t want to jump the gun, because some people are tweeting stuff, and jump the gun and ruin this guy’s life if it’s not true. So we’re going to look into it. I literally have a whole team of lawyers and everything in house looking at it right now in Vegas, and if it’s true, [he will be cut].”

Brinsa had denied the allegations on Facebook:

“I am not a neo-Nazi, never have been, never will be,” he wrote. “At no time in my life have I ever made any xenophobic, anti-Semitic or racist statements, either in public or in private. Yes, I do have a past as a football hooligan in my youth, but that is a thing of the past as I have been solely focusing on my professional career for the past couple of years.

“I’ve been trying to take legal action against the person that has started the smear campaign against me on the internet, but unfortunately to no avail so far as he hides behind synonyms and publishes his defamation on websites with no legal information. For the past two years this guy has been contacting promoters, sponsors, authorities and journalists trying to prevent me from getting fights and trying to destroy my reputation.”

Obviously this is a major set back for the 24-year-old Brinsa’s MMA career but is probably a wise decision by the UFC who hopes to promote an event in Berlin in 2014. Given the UFC’s struggles to even get on television in Germany, a country with laws against neo-nazi speech, this is probably the only decision that could be made.

Brinsa could conceivably rebrand himself as an outspoken critic of neo-nazi groups if he ever hopes to fight on the highest levels of the sport but it’s hard to see the UFC re-signing him.

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About the author
Nate Wilcox
Nate Wilcox

Nate Wilcox is the founding editor of BloodyElbow.com. As such he has hired every editor and writer to work for the site. Wilcox’s writing for BE is known for its emphasis on MMA history, the evolution of fighting techniques and strong opinions. Wilcox developed the SBN MMA consensus rankings which were featured in USA Today from 2009 to 2011. Before founding BE, Wilcox was a political operative working for such figures as Senators John Kerry and Mark Warner and an early political blogger. He is the co-author of Netroots Rising, a history of the political blogosphere from 2003 to 2007. Wilcox also hosts the Let It Roll podcast on music history for the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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