UNCASVILLE, Conn. – You could be forgiven for thinking that Julia Budd’s main motivation ahead of her victory at Bellator 244 was her desire to bounce back after losing her title to Cris Cyborg. But she revealed after her bout that she was fighting for something bigger.
Speaking to reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage after her win over Jessy Miele at Mohegan Sun Arena, Budd (14-3 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) revealed that she wanted to use her platform as one of Bellator’s premier fighters to highlight the ongoing problem of racial injustice.
“I was just so happy to get back in there, especially in times like these,” she explained. “I think the whole world is fighting right now. People are still fighting because of the color of their skin, and that’s been something that’s been driving me to want to get back in the cage and do my job here, because there’s a big fight right now on the planet, and good has to prevail. So it’s kind of been a driving factor for me.
“We have a job to do as human beings to be kinder to one another, and it’s been something that I’ve been fighting for since the George Floyd murder.”
Canadian Budd was keen to point out that the issue of racial injustice wasn’t a unique problem to the U.S, as she revealed problems close to her home in British Columbia.
“It means so much to me because my husband’s black, my stepson’s black, my mother-in-law’s black, and I’ve just seen a lot of racial injustice going on in my community on the Sunshine Coast,” she explained. “It’s not just a U.S. problem, it’s everywhere. We’ve got totem poles being vandalized on the Sunshine Coast, and it’s just something that has been really (expletive) me off, and it’s been a big motivating factor to be able to get in there and use my hands instead of my voice. So I wanted to get in there and fight.”
Bellator 244 took place Friday. The main card aired on Paramount Network and DAZN after prelims on MMA Junkie.
Check out Budd’s full post-fight press conference via the video above.
