Under less-than-ideal circumstances, UFC flyweight Jeff Molina has revealed that he is bisexual, making him the first male UFC fighter to come out as being part of the LGBTQ community.
Molina made the announcement Friday in a lengthy Twitter post in response to an intimate video of him being stolen and leaked online.
“TLDR: im bi,” Molina wrote. “Not the way I wanted to do this but the chance to do it when I was ready was taken from me. I’ve tried to keep my dating life private from social media.”
Molina opened up about his “suppressed feelings” growing up and as his combat sports career advanced. He also expressed concerns about coming out to a community of MMA fans and fighters who regularly express homophobic sentiment.
👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/zho13QHXeT
— Jeff Molina (@jmolina_125) March 17, 2023
“I’m a pretty masculine dude and that bro-y banter and sus [sic] sense of humor has always been how I am,” Molina said. “The thought of my buddies, teammates, and ppl [sic] I look up to looking at me different let alone treating me different for something I can’t control was something I couldn’t fathom. In a sport like this where a majority of the fans being the homophobic c***suckers they are I didn’t see myself doing this during this part of my career. I wanted to be known for my skills and what I’ve dedicated the last 11 years of my life to and not the ‘bi UFC fighter’ that I’m sure would just be translated to ‘gay UFC fighter.'”
Molina, 25, unexpectedly found himself in the spotlight last June after he shared on social media that he was excited to wear the UFC’s Pride Month shorts for his fight against Zhalgas Zhumagulov at UFC Fight Night 207. Molina went on to win a split decision.
Jeff Molina goes *off* about the negative comments he received for wearing UFC's pride month shorts.
"I just thought in 2022 people would be a little more open-minded and not pieces of sh*t. But I guess I was wrong."#UFCVegas56 | Full video: https://t.co/mOxnqIFGCb pic.twitter.com/aKeVUUeXyg
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) June 5, 2022
That was the last time Molina has competed in the octagon. He’s currently serving a suspension handed down by the Nevada Athletic Commission for his alleged role in a UFC betting scandal that his coach, James Krause, is at the center of.
Molina has been in the UFC since winning on Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2020. He’s 11-2 overall and 3-0 in the promotion, currently riding a 10-fight winning streak.
