Charlie Radtke was relatively unknown heading into UFC 293, but his popularity may have changed following his post-fight interview. After outpointing local favorite Mike Mathetha in a largely forgettable welterweight bout at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Radtke used a homophobic slur while speaking with UFC commentator Daniel Cormier, which led to him receiving much more attention than he otherwise would have.
Radtke’s Controversial Remarks and Apology
Radtke’s exact words during the interview were, “It felt great. So f—k all you f–gots in the fu–ing crowd. Come down and get some you pu–y ass b—ches.” The 33-year-old known as “Chuck Buffalo” would later apologize for his remarks in a statement on social media. He tweeted, “My sincere apologies to all of you watching today,” and tagged various figures in the UFC and sports media.
Manel Kape’s Similar Incident
Radtke was not the only one to use that slur at UFC 293. Later in the evening, Manel Kape called the City Kickboxing team “a bunch of f——s” following his victory over Felipe dos Santos in a flyweight bout on the main card. Kape’s rant was directed primarily at Kai Kara-France, who pulled out of the fight against the former Rizin champ after suffering a concussion in training.
At the post-fight press conference, Kape apologized for his words, saying, “I am sorry for that, it was emotional, during the interviews we are all emotional and we say things that we didn’t want to say, so for those who feel bad about that, I apologize.”
UFC president Dana White also addressed the remarks of both Radtke and Kape during his session with the media. He stated, “That was flying around a little bit tonight. I think these guys get a little excited and you make bad mistakes. 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… He got emotional and we make mistakes. 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 and how you carry yourself after you made a mistake. He came out and apologized out of his own free will. We didn’t tell him to do anything and the fact that he did that means that he means it. I’m sure some people will accept his apology and some people won’t.”