Tony Kelley has responded after being accused of racist comments during the Andrea Lee fight at UFC Vegas 54.

It was Andrea Lee (13-6 MMA) vs Viviane Araujo (11-3 MMA) inside the UFC Apex this past Saturday, May 14th with Lee winning by unanimous decision in the flyweight bout.

It was Tony Kelley, who was cornering Andrea Lee at the fight, who between rounds was apparently heard saying:

“That’s what they’re gonna do. They’re dirty f******* Brazilians. They’re going to f***ing cheat like that.”

Needless to say, words have meaning and Kelley was immediately criticized by other Brazilian fighters including Cris Cyborg, Gilbert Burns as well as his upcoming opponent, Adrian Yanez. UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad has even gone as far as to call Kelley a ‘racist’.

It will be Tony Kelley (8-2 MMA) vs Adrian Yanez (15-3 MMA) in a bantamweight bout at UFC Austin on June 18th.

Tony ‘Primetime’ Kelley last fought at UFC 269 in December of 2021 where he defeated Randy Costa (6-3 MMA).

Kelley has responded to the criticism by taking to ‘Twitter‘ defending himself, saying:

“Cancel Culture is real. What I said was real and in the heat of battle, and in no way had any type of racist connotations meant… but if that’s the way you take it, idgaf. So many people quick to say racist…that sh*ts getting so old. My reference was to a dirty eye poke.”

Do you agree with the criticism levelled against Tony Kelley or are you of the opinion that ‘Cancel Culture is real’?