Former UFC fighter Michael Graves threatens reporter, prompts former employer to issue statement

Former UFC fighter Michael Graves threatened a reporter, which prompted his former employer to issue a statement regarding the incident.

Graves got into an argument with MMA reporter Amy Kaplan in her DMs, where he used derogatory language to describe the media. Kaplan then took the screenshots public.

HEY @TitanFighting ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/zZfhcmMAd8

— Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) October 16, 2021

After Kaplan released the screenshots, MMAFighting.com reached out to Titan FC for comment. Promotional COO Lex McMahon issued a statement where he acknowledged the situation with the fighter, but he also confirmed that Graves is not under contract.

“We are aware of an ongoing situation with Mike Graves,” McMahon said. “We have no information and Mike has not been a contracted Titan fighter for some time.”

Graves fought in the UFC between 2015 and 2016, racking up a 2-0-1 record in the promotion, with notable wins over Vicente Luque and Randy Brown, with a draw to Bojan Velickovic. However, Graves was cut by the UFC following a misdemeanor battery charge. He then went to Russia and competed for Fight Nights Global before returning to Florida and fighting for Titan FC. Between 2019 and 2020, Graves racked up three straight wins in Titan FC, including a decision win over current UFC fighter Jared Gooden. He was the Titan FC welterweight champion, but he was stripped of the belt after failing to make weight.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Graves going forward given these comments. The UFC already kicked him out of the promotion following his domestic abuse situation a few years ago, and now Titan FC obviously does not want anything to do with him after he missed weight for his title fight and then made these crude comments.

What do you think about Michael Graves threatening an MMA reporter, and do you think other promotions will be less likely to sign him now given these comments?