UFC president Dana White caused a moment of confusion at the Freedom 250 press conference when he requested a translator for a fighter who had just addressed the crowd in English. The incident occurred ahead of the historic MMA event at the White House on Sunday.
Diego Lopes, a Brazilian featherweight, was speaking to the media when White interrupted to ask for a translator. After being informed that Lopes had spoken in English, White, who is deaf in one ear, admitted: 'That was English?! Oh s**t. Alright. It was Spanish to me.'
Lopes, who moved to Mexico as a teenager, has been learning English to help his MMA career. 'I think in MMA it is so important you speak multi-lingual,' he said last year. 'UFC is global and you need to speak English because it helps you so much for your travel and your interviews.'
The event, marking 250 years of American independence and President Donald Trump's 80th birthday, features a lightweight title fight between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, plus an interim heavyweight bout between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane.
