‘I’m sorry this upset you’: UFC fighter Casey Kenney sorry for ‘degrading’ sexual remarks about title challenger Megan Anderson

UFC bantamweight Casey Kenney has apologized to upcoming women's featherweight title challenger Megan Anderson after making sexual remarks about her which the Australian described as "utterly degrading".

Kenney was pilloried online after making comments about Anderson's appearance on a podcast hosted by fellow UFC rising star Sean O'Malley in which he said that he would sleep with Anderson "if it was 5am", suggesting that he would only do so if he had no other options remaining. 

"Probably not, man," Kenney said when asked by podcast co-host Tim Welch if he would "smash" the women's MMA star, who will share a fight card with Kenney at March's UFC 259 event.

"She’s not too… well, I mean, if it came down to it, and it was like 5 a.m., 4, she’s a 5 a.m.-er, 4 a.m.-er. Just us two hanging out, like, ‘F*ck it, let’s do it.'"

The interview segment was reproduced online and came to Anderson's attention, causing the 30-year-old former Invicta champion to make it clear that she wasn't impressed by Kenney's statement about her.

"I guess MMA is a line of work where you can publicly talk about whether you'd have sex with a co-worker in an utterly degrading way and face zero consequences," Anderson wrote in a riposte.

"Disgusting behavior and it's unfortunate that he'll be fighting on my card in March."

Soon after Anderson's rebuttal, Kenney responded to her on Twitter in which he said he was "sorry" and said that he will be "more careful with my words."

"I’m sorry this upset you," Kenney wrote. "I will be more careful with my words.

"I was just answering a question and thought it was all a joking matter.

"I see I was wrong and I’m sorry. Best of luck with training camp and your fight."

Anderson then faced further backlash in the comments, with some criticizing her for what they saw as an overreaction - particularly, one person said, because she has appeared in steamy photoshoots in the past.

Kenney, who has won three straight fights in the UFC, will take on the biggest test of his career to date when he faces former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz on the March 6 card. 

Anderson, meanwhile, will compete in one of three title bouts on the card when she challenges the dominant Amanda Nunes for women's featherweight gold.

The main event will see Israel Adesanya attempt to become the UFC's latest 'champ champ' when he looks to seize light heavyweight gold from reigning 205lbs champion Jan Blachowicz. Petr Yan also defends his UFC bantamweight title against Aljamain Sterling on the card.