Family members of Dhafir Harris, aka Dada 5000, released a statement Tuesday condemning recent remarks made by UFC commentator Joe Rogan as "overtly racist and offensive."
During a recent episode of his podcast, Rogan, who is also a stand-up comic, spoke negatively about Friday's heavyweight fight between Harris and Kimbo Slice, which co-headlined Bellator 149 in Houston.
Harris, 38, lost via TKO when he fell over, exhausted, in the third round. He was later hospitalized and declined to critical condition before stabilizing the following morning. He remains in a Houston-area hospital.
In criticizing the fight, Rogan said Harris' heart was "filled with cheeseburgers and fried chicken and orange soda," according to a transcript of The Joe Rogan Experience posted by MMAFighting.com. He also accused Harris (2-1) of being poorly trained for the fight, which was his first since 2011.
On Tuesday, Harris' family responded in a statement released by his management.
"The Harris family is appalled at the overtly racist and offensive comments directed at Dada 5000 by Joe Rogan who said in an interview that Dada's heart was filled with 'cheeseburgers, fried chicken and orange soda,' mocking the family's statement issued the previous day.
"We don't recall Mr. Rogan ever challenging anyone with this amount of vitriol and ignorant racial overtones, all directed to a man who is still hospitalized."
The statement went on to say Harris prepared for the bout with the help of several coaches as well as a nutritionist.
In a previous statement released Saturday, the family said Harris suffered from renal failure because of extremely high levels of potassium in his blood. His team has said he lost 40 pounds in order to make the 265-pound heavyweight limit.
