An MMA fighter was banned from making his pro debut after it was found he has a tattoo of Adolf Hitler

• A fighter was prevented from making his pro MMA debut because he has several Nazi tattoos.
• Radek Rousal reportedly has a portrait of Adolf Hitler on his hand, among other Nazi symbols.

A wannabe MMA fighter called Radek Rousal has been banned from making his pro debut with a regional combat sports promotion in Europe because he's got a tattoo of Adolf Hitler.

Rousal is a 0-1 kickboxer and was looking to break into the pro mixed martial arts game.

That aspiration has been put on pause, though, because his body is covered in Nazi symbols that reflect what he says is a past life of his in which he supported the fascist ideology.

Though Rousal has tried to distance himself from that past, it has not sat well with regional promoter Ondrej Novotny, who runs the Czech fight firm Oktagon MMA.

"You can't come to us and look like this," Novotny told Czech publication Idnes in December, days before Rousal was scheduled to fight a Slovak combatant called Nikolas Krivak.

People alerted Novotny to news that Rousal had a portrait of Hitler on his right hand.

Photos of Rousal show that he also has a tattoo of a skull wearing a military cap on his chest, likely a reference to the SS, the Nazi German paramilitary organization.

Rousal does not deny that he has the tattoos, or that they are deeply offensive.

"I grew up in the troubled community of people that made this tattoo," he said, according to Idnes. "At the time, I didn't know what to do with life, I was young and this tattoo was stupid.

"Later, I started doing martial arts, which led me to a completely different life and worldview. I have more tattoos that I regret, I gradually re-tattoo them all. I also want to apologize with my statement."

While Rousal says he is in the process of covering up his tattoos, the most offensive ones still remain on his body. This perplexes the fight promoter Novotny, who reportedly told Rousal that he's "crazy," per Idnes.

Novotny said: "I'm not a tattoo expert, but how long can this take to re-tattoo? Two days?

"It's nice that he basically distanced himself from it, I trust him and I'm able to understand everything, but not this and it can be done faster. Most importantly, it must be seen. This is not very visible yet."

Rousal trains at the Muay Thai Brno gym which is an establishment that said it opposes "manifestations of any racial or other discrimination and tolerance," according to MMA News.

A statement from the gym referenced the removal of the offending images, saying: "Radek and I have been dealing with the situation and the tattoo removal, which, according to his words, originated years ago in youthful indiscretion, has been ordered for a long time with a deadline for January.

"However, the offer for the match came at the last minute, before it's removal."

Novotny banned Rousal from Oktagon MMA until further notice. It is unclear if he will fight in other organizations.