Danish UFC welterweight division Nicolas Dalby showed support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community during the weigh-ins for UFC Fight Night 93: Arlovski vs. Barnett on September 3, 2016 at Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany.
Weigh-ins for #UFCHamburg done!” he wrote on Instagram, posing with a Gay Pride-themed UFC t-shirt. “170 and ready to smash Sobotta! But it was more important for me to show my support for the #LGBTQ community. #WeAreAllOne.”
Dalby discussed the gesture in a post-fight interview with MMAViking.
[Gay rights] doesn’t come up to the surface that often [in mixed martial arts],” he explained. “I have a bunch of good friends that are gay as well, so I just wanted to show that mixed martial arts and support of the gay community can go hand in hand.
The UFC launched the ‘We Are All Fighters’ apparel at the 2016 UFC Fan Expo in July, with proceeds going to the LGBTQ Center in Las Vegas.
It is just one in a number of steps the organization and a number of fighters have taken to show respect for the LGBT community.
Just as it takes courage to step into the Octagon, it takes courage to stand for what you believe in—and we’re proud to stand with members of the LGBTQ community in their fight for equality, said UFC senior executive vice president Lawrence Epstein in July. As friends and allies, our hope is to raise awareness and help support community groups like the LGBTQ Centre that directly impact LGBTQ individuals.
Bantamweight Amanda Nunes became the UFC’s first ever openly gay champion when she defeated Miesha Tate at UFC 200 on July 9, 2016; she also highlighted the We Are All One apparel on her social network.
However, it was light heavyweight Kyle Kingsbury who started the LGBT weigh-in support, prior to his fight with Patrick Cummins at UFC on Fox 12 on July 26, 2014. He did so in a characteristically straight-forward fashion, with pink underwear that read “Legalize Gay.”
Kingbury’s gesture was a reference to legalizing gay marriage, but it is also important to take stands like Dalby did, not for a specific political issue, but simply to say it is fine to be gay, and above all, that we are all one.
