Jeff Molina Opens Up About Unexpected Sexual Orientation Reveal: ‘I Wanted To Be Known For My Skills’

UFC flyweight Jeff Molina discussed the aftermath of his unexpected reveal of being bisexual.

Jeff Molina
Jeff Molina (Left and Right)(Images via Instagram @JMolina_125)

Jeff Molina opened up about the unexpected reveal of his personal life

Earlier this week, Molina had his life turned upside down when someone released a video of him doing NSFW actions. Although ‘El Jefe’ deserved more privacy, he had to respond to the video revealing he was bisexual. The UFC flyweight appeared on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani and had this to say about the support he received: 

“A couple hours went by and I got an influx of support. 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, ‘Hey man, it’s an inspiration, and it sucks on the terms that it happened, but you’re an inspiration. It’s inspiring for you to come out and be the first male UFC fighter to be out…”

Molina continued by saying: 

“And that definitely changed the tune of how I was feeling. It almost felt good to turn a sh*tty situation into a positive by knowing I’m inspiring people around the world. When I say it was more than just a dozen, it was at least 100 messages from fighters, athletes, actors, musicians, just regular Joes. That was pretty cool.”

Molina last fought in June 2022, defeating Zhalgas Zhumagulov by split decision, extending his UFC record to 3-0. Since then, ‘El Jefe’ has been temporarily suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission during an ongoing gambling investigation surrounding his coach James Krause. The UFC flyweight continues to maintain his innocence in the situation. 

Jeff Molina wants to be known for his fighting skills

Sexual orientation shouldn’t define a fighter, especially someone like Jeff Molina. Before being suspended, ‘El Jefe’ was a highly-touted prospect for his UFC wins over Aoriqileng, Daniel Da Silva, and Zhalgas Zhumagulov. During the same interview with Ariel Helwani, Molina had this to say about wanting his legacy to be based on his fighting skills:

“I wanted to be known for my skills, man. I’ve been doing this since I was 14 years old and I bust my ass. I’m not the most athletic kid in the world, but I train my ass off, I’m in the gym every day, two to three times a day. And this wasn’t something that I wanted to be known for. This is, again, so small and isn’t my personality…”

Molina continued by saying: 

“It’s a part of who I am, but it’s not me, if that makes sense. This is just something that should be nonchalant, and unfortunately, it’s not. But now that this is out, and my hand was kind of forced into coming out, but it is what it is, I’m not going to cry over spilled milk and I’m going to take it in stride. And if I can inspire other people, then that’s what I want to do.”

It’s unclear what will come from the investigation into James Krause. With that said, if Molina is cleared of any wrongdoing, he deserves to pick up where he left off. The 25-year-old has the potential to be a future flyweight title challenger, and the MMA community awaits his return to the Octagon. 

Quotes provided by MMA Fighting

Published on March 22, 2023 at 11:53 pm
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