Can fighters be peacemakers? Inside the minds of Christians in MMA
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Victorious middleweight Bo Nickal draped his arm around Joe Rogan with the White House in the background and an audience of 34 million watching.
“I’m so grateful to God for blessing me with this opportunity,” he said before quoting John 10:10.
Later, with Rogan again holding the mic, Brazilian lightweight Mauricio Ruffy said, “I have a message.” He quoted John 3:16, then said, “Jesus changed my life. … Give your life to Jesus.”
Two months later, in the fighting city of Philadelphia, Jalin “The Tarantula” Turner scored what Rogan called a “quick and violent” victory. When given the mic, Turner told the UFC 330 audience, “I’m feeling the joy of the Lord right now. I’ve gotta give all my thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You guys see there’s a lot of fighters coming out here and saying that. There’s a revival happening right now.”
These declarations of faith have all come in 2026. Victorious fighters — exhausted and drenched in sweat — offer praises from inside the octagon, which during any given event may feature bloodstains on the mat between advertisements from beer companies and betting websites.
Whether you call it mixed martial arts or a cage fight, the optics of the sport don’t suggest peace. But Christian fighters are boldly declaring their beliefs.
“I’m stepping in here with the Prince of Peace every time,” Turner said.
This week, the UFC returns to the Delta Center in Salt Lake City with 14 scheduled fights on Saturday, Oct. 3. Blocks away, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will convene for the Saturday sessions of general conference — a semiannual gathering where church leaders offer messages of comfort and counsel. In recent years, many of those messages have been calls for peace — and peacemakers.
Is what’s taking place down the street at the Delta Center on Saturday night antithetical to the gospel of Christ? Or is there something about the sport that makes fighting and discipleship perfectly compatible?
“I have a strong commitment in my own personal life to being a peacemaker, and I also really enjoy the sport of fighting,” said Cade Alvey, who co-hosts the faith-themed podcast “All Those in Favor” and also trains in mixed martial arts. “So if there was a tension between the two that I didn’t think could exist, then I would give up one. ... But I think it is obvious to anyone that knows peace and knows how to have a peaceful relationship with the world around them, and who also knows fighting, that these two concepts don’t really brush up much against one another.
“I find it’s easier to be a peacemaker in an MMA gym than it is to be in an intramural softball game.”
We wanted to know what’s in the minds of fighters who declare their Christian faith. From the highest levels of the sport to the local gyms, here are insights from:
- Natalia Silva: No. 1-ranked flyweight who will be fighting for the vacant title on Saturday in Salt Lake City
- Anthony Wint: Undefeated heavyweight and former NFL player fighting as part of the prelims this weekend
- Roberto Soldic: Croatian welterweight who is 18-1 and is featured on Saturday’s main card
- Kauai Thompson: Professional MMA fighter and Latter-day Saint known as the “Throwin’ Samoan,” who was featured in the YouTube series “Saints Unknown”
- RJ Wilgar: A mixed martial artist from Utah and a Latter-day Saint
- Dalton Williams: Former amateur mixed martial artist out of Utah and a Latter-day Saint apologist known on social media as @unashamedtruth116
Natalia Silva
On the role faith plays in her life as a fighter:“I cannot imagine a life without God. I have spoken to him many times and said: ‘God, I can lose everything, but please don’t leave me, stay by my side,’ because I cannot imagine that. He is everything to me.”
On using MMA as a platform:“I know that the place that I talk about God is very improbable. People don’t expect me to talk about it there, but I couldn’t go without saying the role that he has in my life and why I would not be here if it wasn’t for him. He brought me to the place. He’s given me the strength and really the energy every day to do what I do.
“Maybe that stage that I have reaches people that otherwise would never hear about God.”
“And maybe some people in this improbable place, maybe they see me and they may be in a situation that they may need to be reached and they wouldn’t be reached otherwise. But maybe that stage that I have reaches people that otherwise would never hear about God, so at least they’re hearing it from me and I’ll never stop telling it.”
On if it’s possible to love your opponent:“It’s just a fight. It’s just business. You can definitely go about your business fighting, and you can definitely love. And honestly, these are work matters. You go out there and you do your job.”
Anthony Wint
On following God’s plan for him:“I think fighting is stupid. But God says, ‘The foolishness of God is greater than the wisdom of man.’”
On using UFC as a platform to share his beliefs:“I don’t fight for the belt, man. I fight for the fact that either I’m going to get the mic or you’re going to get the mic, and what you’re going to say more than likely isn’t going to be better than what I’m going to say because I’m not saying what I want to say. I’m propelling God’s message forward to the masses.”
On his decision to use worship music as his walk-up songs:“Fighting, in a sense, is my ministry.”
“Fighting, in a sense, is my ministry, and I think it allows, if there’s a room full of 20,000 people, even if it’s two people, if they hear that song, it’s like, ‘Wow, what’s going on? I heard Lil Wayne, I heard this, I heard that, but this guy’s coming out to worship music.’ All I need is one soul to be like, ‘OK, maybe I’m going to reevaluate how I live my life because this guy walked out to a worship song.’ And even if they don’t, it allows me to know that, ‘Hey, we’re going to war and we don’t plan to lose.’”
On what comes next after fighting:“Glorifying God. At the end of the day, I think I’m called to be a warrior, not just in the cage, but in my community, in my family.”
Roberto Soldic
On being a peacemaker and a fighter:“I believe this is all for a reason. I don’t hate my opponent. It’s only sport and that’s it. I was born for this. I believe this, you know? So, it’s all from God, talent and everything. Hard work also, but with God, you go on top.”
Kauai Thompson
On being both “mean” and “nice,” shared during a podcast interview with Ward Radio.“There’s an avenue to be both. … Sometimes it’s good to get punched in the face, and sometimes it’s good to step up and stand up for what we believe in.”
On the camaraderie shared between fighters:“You can punch someone in the face. You can break their nose. And then afterward if you can go out and get a burger with them, that’s peacemaking.”
Dalton Williams
On how Ammon’s exchange with King Lamoni in Alma 20 in the Book of Mormon teaches how to be a peacemaker and a warrior:“He hurts him, he disarms him, and then when Ammon has the ability — the king says, ‘I’ll give you half my kingdom, I’ll give you all my stuff’ — Ammon could have killed him and taken it all, but he didn’t. He put his sword right back, he realized that he had neutralized the threat and he immediately extended an arm and said, ‘Hey, I beat you. Take me seriously. Ask me why I’m here. I’m here because I have a message about Jesus Christ.’
“Ammon could have delivered a final blow, he could have killed the king, he could have taken his kingdom, he could have done all these things, but that wasn’t what Ammon wanted. So, he only used violence to the point necessary where he could then teach about why he was there.”
On loving his opponent:“I’ve never once become enemies with anyone that I’ve ever fought.”
“I’ve never once become enemies with anyone that I’ve ever fought. In fact, it’s usually the opposite. Whether we won or lost, or whatever, we usually will go get dinner afterward and be like, ‘That was a really good shot,’ and we have a mutual respect for each other. I think you can apply that in religious debate.”
On the spirituality of mixed martial arts:“I think in Moses 6:63, the scripture says that all things testify and show of Christ, and so, I think that MMA is no exception. It can be one of the most spiritual experiences because of all of the aspects of how hard it is, how brutal it is, and how effort, passion and all these things go into it, and you can’t help but appreciating and respecting the person on the other side.”
RJ Wilgar
On fighting bringing him closer to Jesus Christ:“I’ve been in the cage six times, and it really is intense. But I think that doing hard things and pushing through adversity and suffering and just testing yourself, I think that that’s super important.
“For me, honestly, I feel like it even brings me closer to Christ, and also kind of helps me to understand just a little bit of what he really suffered the most and he went through the most — way more than what any other man could do inside the cage. Even getting beat up real bad doesn’t even come close to what our Savior Jesus Christ went through.”
On loving his opponent:“I have nothing but love and respect for anyone who is courageous enough to do that.”
“It’s simply competition. It’s just a sport. And after the fight, I have nothing but just love and respect, and even before the fight, I have nothing but love and respect for anyone who is courageous enough to do that.”
On receiving strength from Jesus Christ:“If it wasn’t for him and my testimony of him, I don’t think I personally would have the courage and the faith to even make that walk to the cage to compete. It’s a scary thing, it’s an intense thing. There’s a lot of, I guess, fear. Most people could never even imagine doing something like that. But for me, I know that with Christ I can do anything, and also he’s, like I said, he’s suffered far greater than I could possibly suffer, even in an MMA fight.”