Czech MMA fighter Cverna challenges bodybuilder who insulted Romani people
The racist remarks by the non-Romani bodybuilder Filip Grznár after his recent MMA match with the Romani celebrity Jaroslav Oláh continue to spark strong emotions due to his use of the word “gyppo” (“cigoš“). Oláh himself made a video for news server Romea.cz where he says there is no point in responding to such remarks, but Alexander Cverna, who competes in the MMA organization Oktagon, has criticized Grznár for them.
Grznár had also previously been criticized by the rapper Refew. Cverna, who competes in the Oktagon fights in the heavyweight category, posted a video of himself practicing his MMS moves against a punching bag along with this message: “Grznár, this is for the guys you’ve insulted. They aren’t ‘gyppos’, they’re human beings like you and me. Get ready, this challenge is for you, come on over, I want to revenge everybody who is not a racist. You’ll see what MMA is like because I’ll show it to you, and then you can give your speeches, if you’re still able.”
Grznár and Oláh’s match was held by a different MMA organization called I Am Fighter. The main promoter of that organization is a formerly active member of the neo-Nazi National Resistance, the founder of a brand of clothing, Grassel, that is a favorite among neo-Nazis, Petr Píno Ondruš.
Cverna responded to Grznár right after Grznár won his fight against Oláh and made the insulting remarks. “He may be a gyppo, but he’s really just a show-off,” Grznár said of his opponent.
The rapper Refew reacted to that insult almost immediately with a profanity-laden Instagram post that he later deleted, saying it had been a mistake to lower himself to Grznár’s level. “It’s still the case that to be famous for being a racist and to say something like that after a fight – you can’t get any lower,” the rapper posted.
Oláh responded to Grznár’s remarks about “gyppos” by telling news server Romea.cz that there is no point in doing anything about such statements. “That person speaks faster than he thinks. Let’s not be absolutely picky about every little thing. People, there’s no problem, it was a brilliant fight that ended how it ended,” Oláh told Romea.cz.
