Jeff Molina discusses support after coming out as first male bisexual UFC fighter: “It was at least 100 messages”

UFC flyweight contender Jeff Molina has discussed the recent support he’s gotten over the last week.

‘El Jefe’ has been out of action since his clash with Zhalgas Zhumagulov last June. In that outing, Molina picked up the victory by split decision, his 10th in a row. Prior to that victory over Zhumagulov, the Kansan picked up wins over names such as Aori Qileng and Daniel da Silva.

Last November, the flyweight contender was suspended due to his link to James Krause. The head of Glory MMA where Molina trained, the coach was linked to suspicious betting activity following a fight between Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. The flyweight was later suspended by the UFC but remains on their roster.

Last week, Jeff Molina was the victim of intimate private videos being released on social media. Following the leak, the flyweight took to Twitter to release a lengthy statement. There, Molina came out as bisexual, the first male UFC fighter to have ever done so.

Earlier today, he went onto The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani to discuss fan responses to his situation. Molina noted that it’s been very positive, and has turned this negative situation into something good. He also stated he’s received 100s of messages of support from fans, fellow fighters, and more.

Image Credit: UFC

“I got an influx of support.” Jeff Molina stated on The MMA Hour. “It was heartwarming to get messages from fellow athletes that are closeted. Fellow UFC fighters that are closeted, people with notoriety. That were just like, ‘It’s an inspiration, it sucks on the terms that it happened but it’s inspiring to come out and be the first UFC fighter that is out.'”

He continued, “That changed the tune of how I was feeling. It almost felt good to turn the s*itty situation into a positive. Knowing that I’m inspiring people around the world, when I say it was more than a dozen, it was at least one hundred messages. Fighters, athletes, actors, musicians, regular Joes, that was pretty cool.”

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