Video: MMA fighter steps in during racially charged confrontation

MMA fighter Khai Wu stepped in when he heard a customer demand service in English.

Khai Wu is a 26-year-old fighter who trains out of Tracy, CA. He’s got a 6-3 record, with two appearances for Bellator under his belt. Recently Wu published a video on his Instagram showing him peacefully resolving a tense situation at his local boba shop.

That video was shared by veteran MMA journalist John Hyon Ko.

In the video a blurred out man wearing a baseball cap can be seen talking to a shop manager. The man appears to be asking for sushi, with the manager repeatedly telling him that he doesn’t sell that. At one point the man leans towards the shop owner and says, “let’s get one thing American straight.” At that point Wu steps in to speak with the man.

Wu can be heard calmly telling the man that this shop doesn’t sell sushi and that the manager has been communicating to him in perfect English. Wu listens to the man’s complaints and then asks him to step outside to continue the conversation.

Wu later posted further information about the incident and explained why chose to blur out the man with the baseball cap.

In that explanation Wu alleged that the man first entered the shop complaining that someone had stolen his sushi and ran away. Wu said the man then started to demand sushi from the manager. Wu said the man also demanded someone “who speaks English even though the manager can speak English just fine.” Wu described the man’s demeanour as loud, disrespectful and condescending.

“With Asian hate crime on the rise, I gotta be honest I’ve been hyper vigilant,” added Wu. Wu also said that the conversation ended peacefully and that police arrived some time later to check in. He added that he wanted to blur the man out because “this isn’t a cancel him type thing.”

Hate crimes against Asian people have risen dramatically in the US since the global outbreak of COVID-19, a virus that former US President Donald Trump refereed to as a ‘Chinese Virus’ and ‘Kung flu’.

Among recent hate crimes committed against Asian people in the US is the shooting rampage at a spa that killed eight people. Other crimes include the death of an elderly Thai immigrant who was shoved to the ground, the slashing of a Filipino-American and an arson attack against a Chinese woman (per BBC).

Anti-Asian hate crimes have been especially prevalent in the state of California. The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism reported that incidents in Orange County rose by an estimated 1200% from March to May 2020.

Orange County is home to Huntington Beach, which recently had former UFC champion Tito Ortiz on its city council. Ortiz has shared anti-Asian sentiments related to the COVID-19 pandemic and also suggested, without any proof, that the COVID-19 outbreak was a planned action by the Chinese government to combat protests in Hong Kong. These claims are completely baseless.