UFC president Dana White has defended Colby Covington’s controversial anti-Black Lives Matter speech by insisting he ‘doesn’t know what he said that was racist’.

After stopping former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in the fifth round of their fight last Saturday night, Covington used his victory to launch an attack at the BLM movement, something his opponent had vocalised his support for earlier in the week.

Covington said: "Because he is standing up for lifelong criminals.

"You know the Black Lives Matter is a complete sham. It is a joke. They are taking these people. They are complete terrorists.

"They are taking these people that are criminals. You know, these aren’t people that are hard working Americans. Blue collar Americans.

"These are bad people. They are criminals, you know, and they shouldn’t be attacking police. You know if you are breaking the law and you are threatening the cops with weapons. You know, you deserve to get what you get.

"Law enforcement protects us all. If you don’t have law enforcement it would be the wild wild west. So you know, people need to go and give a pat on the back to law enforcement every single day and thank them for keeping us all safe.

"Otherwise you know all these criminals would be running the streets wild and none of us would be safe."

Yet while the rant had received a great deal of criticism for being disrespectful towards the movement, White has backed Covington’s right to voice his own opinion.

"These guys all have their own causes, things, their own beliefs. We don’t muzzle anybody here. We let everybody speak their mind," the UFC chief said.

"I don’t know what he said that was racist. I don’t know if I heard anything racist that he said."

Covington is a strong supporter of Donald Trump and even received a congratulatory message from the president after his win.

Trump said: "I’m proud of you man, I’m a big fan and I’m proud of you.

"You’re tough, you have the right spirits. So now go win the next one, and just keep it for a long time, right?

"Just keep that championship for a long time. But you are something. I appreciated the shout-out tonight, too. I’m your fan, you’re my fan. Two of a kind, two of a kind."