UFC fans were treated to an action-packed night at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center, but some viewers watching on Paramount+ found themselves distracted by a familiar face in the broadcast booth. Din Thomas was part of the commentary team, and his appearance immediately reignited the backlash surrounding his recent controversy with longtime pupil Gillian Robertson.

Just one week earlier, the former American Top Team coach had sparked widespread criticism by announcing his retirement from cornering immediately after Robertson suffered a unanimous decision loss to strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern in the co-main event at UFC 330. The 49-year-old implied during the broadcast that he firmly believed the Canadian wouldn’t go much further after her latest loss, and as a result, it didn’t make sense for him to continue cornering her or anybody else.

Thomas’ timing drew particular scrutiny because Robertson had just gone through a grueling five-round fight and was dealing with the disappointment of falling short of the title. As such, the comments quickly drew criticism from several prominent figures in the MMA community, including longtime UFC commentator Jon Anik, who labeled Thomas’ statement a “misstep” on social media.

As the backlash grew stronger, the veteran coach, the very next day, decided to address the situation with a firm apology to Robertson, saying his comments were “despicable.” However, the former strawweight title challenger felt that he wasn’t being genuine with his apology and outright rejected it.

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“Prior to the broadcast, I didn’t see any sign of what was to be said,” Robertson’s statement to Helwani read. “ After the broadcast, [Din Thomas] had said, ‘I will address this in the morning.’ He did reach out to me privately at 5 pm, and then sent a voice message apologizing around 7:30 pm, to which I have not responded due to comments he has made since the broadcast privately to my team that lead me to believe there is not much weight in the apology, such as, ‘Me doing that publicly was more so for TV purposes and ratings.’”

As the animosity between Din Thomas and Gillian Robertson reached its peak, the former ATT coach stirred the pot once again by taking a U-turn on his retirement. In a subsequent episode of Deep Waters, Thomas revealed that he is still interested in cornering Sean Brady for his fight against Gabriel Bonfim in November at the Apex, leaving his co-hosts Dustin Poirier, Jorge Masvidal, and Chris Weidman shocked. Even prominent journalist Ariel Helwani called out Thomas for even thinking about backtracking on his retirement. 

The controversial saga that has been unfolding for the past week made one thing clear: Din Thomas has drawn the ire of much of the MMA world with his retirement decision. So, when fans spotted the former UFC fighter on the analyst desk at UFC Sacramento, they simply lost their minds. They couldn’t bear seeing Thomas break down the night’s fights and started lashing out at the 49-year-old.  

Din Thomas faces fan backlash for attending UFC Sacramento after Robertson controversy 

One very angry fan chimed in and wrote, “Get Din Thomas off my television. #UFCSacramento.” After that, a different fan posted a picture of Thomas from UFC Sacramento on social media and reacted even more harshly, “Get this retard off the broadcast.”

Another user stated that they muted the broadcast every time the former fighter appeared on the screen, writing, “Exactly! I muted that MF every time tonight.” But that didn’t beat another fan who labeled Thomas an outright snake, writing, “Get that snake Din Thomas outta here.”

To be honest, Din Thomas has been a part of the UFC’s broadcasting panel for a long time and has also firmly maintained his spot under Paramount+. So, most likely, the company won’t replace him with someone else unless he does something truly offensive. However, it’s not only fans who have been labeling him with all sorts of names. Even a UFC fighter has previously called him out.

Former UFC interim middleweight title challenger Kelvin Gastelum called Thomas a “mole,” alleging that the veteran coach helped leak information from Robbie Lawler’s camp ahead of his bout against Thomas’ fighter Tyron Woodley, which helped the massive underdog get the knockout win over Lawler.

Last but not least, another fan called out Din Thomas for hyping up the event a little too much. During tonight’s broadcast, Thomas claimed that he had never heard a crowd pop anywhere like Sacramento. However, one fan couldn’t help but call out the Delaware native, writing, “What tf is Din Thomas talking about? He’s never seen an American crowd get so loud? He knows he’s in Sacramento, right?”

Well, those reactions clearly show that people’s disdain for Din Thomas has only grown in recent days. Whether the current backlash eventually fades remains to be seen.

For now, however, Thomas’ appearance on the UFC Sacramento broadcast demonstrated that the controversy surrounding his relationship with Robertson is still very much fresh in the minds of MMA fans.