- Prominent women's fighter
Megan Anderson has condemned male colleagues after they made "utterly degrading" comments about her. - A fellow
UFC fighterCasey Kenney discussed on a podcast whether he is sexually attracted to Anderson. - "I guess MMA is a line of work where you can publicly talk about whether you'd have sex with a coworker in an utterly degrading way and face zero consequences," Anderson said.
A prominent women's UFC fighter condemned male colleagues after they talked about her "in an utterly degrading way" during a live podcast.
The American fighter Casey Kenney, 29, made an appearance last week on the Timbo Sugarshow with hosts Tim Welch, a former competitor turned trainer, and UFC prospect
During the podcast, the three talked about Megan Anderson, an Australian featherweight who is weeks away from challenging Amanda Nunes for a women's championship title at UFC 259 in Las Vegas.
Kenney was then asked if he'd "smash" Anderson.
"Probably not, man," Kenney laughed. "If it came down to it, and it was like 5 a.m., 4 … she's a 5 a.m.-er, 4 a.m.-er.
"Just us two hanging out, like … f--- it, let's do it."
It was not long before Anderson became aware of the clip, and commented about the comments on social media.
"I guess MMA is a line of work where you can publicly talk about whether you'd have sex with a coworker in an utterly degrading way and face zero consequences," she wrote January 28.
Kenney is also competing at UFC 259 as he fights Dominick Cruz in a bantamweight bout one match prior to Anderson's title shot. It is likely they'll cross paths at some point during the event.
"[It is] disgusting behavior and it's unfortunate that he'll be fighting on my card in March," said Anderson.
Kenney subsequently apologized, acknowledging that his response was unacceptable.
"I'm sorry this upset you," he said on Twitter. "I will be more careful with my words. I was just answering a question and thought it was all a joking matter. I see I was wrong and I'm sorry.
"Best of luck with training camp and your fight."
See the clip, Anderson's comment, and Kenney's apology right here:
—Casey Kenney (@ckmma135) January 28, 2021
The incident attracted the ire of prominent people in combat sport
A number of prominent members of the MMA community condemned the incident, with Din Thomas, UFC presenter and a friend of UFC boss Dana White's saying the sport had "failed" Anderson.
"Men (in MMA) we gotta do better," Thomas tweeted. "I'm sorry, Megan Anderson, we failed you."
Others to rebuke the incident on social media included well-known MMA referee "Big" John McCarthy, and the UFC commentator Jon Anik.
McCarthy said: "It needs to be clear to everyone that Megan Anderson is an outstanding MMA competitor who deserves more respect from all of her peers. We need to do better."
Anik said: "Absolutely disgusting is right. I'm really sorry you are dealing with this and there absolutely should be consequences. Shameful.
"On a brighter note, I am very much looking forward to your championship opportunity."
Responding to comments on Twitter, Anik added that there is a difference between "guy talk" and doing so in a public forum.
"How often do you have a mic in your face when you are talking with the boys? Saying this on the record as a professional athlete in a public forum about another professional athlete is just idiocy and wildly insensitive.
"In most lines of work, there would be repercussions."
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