UFC 261: Zhang Weili’s manager Brian Butler-Au blasts ‘simpleton’ fans for ‘hateful’ treatment of Chinese former champ
- Butler-Au’s Sucker Punch Entertainment company manages both Zhang and new champion ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas
- ‘Not [talking] about booing or rooting for Rose, but the hateful rhetoric all the Chinese athletes experienced was shameful’
The CEO of Zhang Weili’s management company has called out the “hateful rhetoric” received by Chinese fighters at UFC 261.
Brian Butler-Au of Sucker Punch Entertainment, which manages both the former strawweight champion and the new title-holder Rose Namajunas, blasted the “simpleton mindset” of some fight fans in an Instagram post.
“Zhang’s been nothing but a stellar ambassador for MMA. The simpleton mindset shown the night she competed as a guest in our country was disgraceful,” the American wrote.
“Not [talking] about booing or rooting for Rose, but the hateful rhetoric all the Chinese athletes experienced was shameful #DoBetter”
There were four Chinese fighters on the card in total, with three graduates from the Shanghai Performance Institute – Rong Zhu, Na Liang and Aori Qileng – opening up the preliminaries.
Some social media users had reported racist comments against those fighters while many pointed out the boos, most notably aimed at Zhang before her title fight.