If one were to be honest, the sport of mixed martial arts doesn't have a fantastic track record when it comes to dealing with the LGBT community. Homophobic slurs are still common in MMA (I don't remember the last time a Michael Bisping fight didn't involve him throwing out a slur) and the treatment of the situation usually involves lame "it doesn't mean that when I use it" excuses.

Dana White famously used "faggot" while freaking out about a Sherdog article and the UFC PR department somehow saw no issue allowing the video to be published.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira made it clear that, while he "has no malice," he doesn't want to train with a gay man because what if the gay man has malice?!

These situations have long been a part of MMA meathead culture. Which is probably why Anderson Silva's comments in a recent Fightland article are so refreshing.

Here's how Silva answered a question about anti-gay prejudice in MMA:

I don’t think there’s prejudice, but there’s a lot of homosexuals in mixed martial arts. There are a lot of them who haven’t yet come out. [If they were to come out,] nowadays it’s so silly to not express your feelings. As long as you respect people’s spaces, and respect their limits. You have to live your life in peace and no one has anything to do with that. I would train with a gay man. As long as he respected me, it’s all right. I don’t think much of it. The fact that guy is gay doesn’t mean he’s going to accost you. He can be gay, have a relationship, live among guys who aren’t gay. he can do whatever he wants with his private life.

Obviously I disagree with the premise that there's no prejudice, but it's nice to see a fighter publicly express even the basic idea that people should be free to live their lives as they see fit.

Silva was then asked about being teased for his vanity:

They tease me. Sometimes people think I’m gay. A lot of people have asked me if I’m gay. I answer, "Look, not to my knowledge. But I’m still young, it could be that in the future I’ll find out that I’m gay. I take good care of my things, I put everything in a bag, I use soap, I put on a cream after training. People think it’s capricious. To each his own. Doesn’t mean you’re more man or less man, more gay or less gay.

Silva returns to action at UFC 183 against Nick Diaz.