Jackson-Wink photographer will not be credentialed going forward

At UFC 219 on Saturday night, UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg cleanly defeated former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm. However, there was, unfortunately, a less clean incident afterward on social media.

Jackson-Wink MMA photographer and social media staffer Mark Aragon referenced Cris with inappropriate language.

This dude is tough as hell, wrote Aragon on his social network. That being said, at the press conference he said Holly was the first one to make his nose bleed.

While the remarks have since been deleted, Cyborg was not impressed.

“It is not acceptable for an official representative of Holly Holm, Jackson-Wink MMA to call me transgender following my fight,” she wrote on her social network. “Their official photographer was given a backstage credential to attend the UFC and I expect an apology or their ability to get credentials for future UFC events to be affected by these actions.”

Aragon apologized. Unfortunately, he blew it. The apology was 389 words long, and just 35 of them were an apology. The other 90%+ of it was a further criticism of Cyborg. That’s not doing it right.

“As the most hated photographer in the world today, I feel its necessary to comment on the recent fall out I’m causing for both Holly’s and Cyborg’s camps, and their respectful friends, fans, and families,” he wrote. “At the conclusion of UFC 219, I took the final bus out of the arena back to the hotel and ended up on the same bus as Chris Cyborg and her team. As I sat in the back I began to hear them cheer and revel in their victory and discuss small parts of the event. A couple things really bothered me. I heard them laughing and commenting on a picture that renowned photographer Esther Lin took of Cyborgs toes literally in Holly’s eye from a kick. Cyborg then went on to discuss how during clinches ‘the bitch’ just ‘stayed and hugged her but she did nothing.’ When I got back to the hotel I posted a picture with an inappropriate caption that everyone is now talking about. I was obviously acting out of anger and frustration. My personal emotions got in the way of my professional status which I failed to adhere to. But there is more to it, Cyborg leading up to the fight through her own Social Media accounts accused Holly and our camp of being the most drug failed camp ever. This is a totally fabricated lie and can’t be based on any merit whatsoever. Only one CURRENT athlete from our camp has ever been punished for USADA related issues and I was extremely frustrated with the perception that Cyborg and her fans had painted us as cheaters and losers. Jackson Wink had over 60 UFC fights throughout the world and hundreds of other fighters fighting all around the world at many different organizations. Every fighter has their home team based out of whatever country or state they hail from and come here for training, some of them with their own teams. We absolutely can’t be responsible for each and every one of their daily activities. That being said I am embarrassed by my actions and I sincerely apologize to Cris Cyborg and her friends, fans, and most importantly her family for posting such an ugly misrepresentation of a great hard earned championship retention. I also want to apologize to the members of team Jacksonwink who were affected by that insincere post.”

The UFC was not impressed either.

UFC is aware and troubled with the recent statements made by a social media representative from the JacksonWink MMA Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico as it concerns women’s featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg, read a statement from the league. UFC does not condone or tolerate the remarks that were used. The organization has reached out to the JacksonWink team to inform them that the individual in question will not be granted access for future events.

We live in a new era. It’s acceptable to break each other’s bones in a cage, but words attacking gender are not. So let’s give the champ the final word.

“I want to thank the UFC for showing their support,” she wrote. “Everyone is entitled to a work environment free from sexual harassment and prejudice.”