Natan Levy, who is the only Israeli in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), said in an interview this week that it’s important for Jews to learn how to defend themselves and urged support for Holocaust survivors.
“At one point I was so nervous for my fight, it was the biggest fight of my life, and on the other hand, it’s Holocaust Memorial Day and I said to myself, ‘Why am I stressed out? Look at what these people went through, the atrocities,'” he said in a Thursday episode of “Podcast Against Antisemitism.”
Levy was referring to a UFC with on April 30 in Las Vegas that he won, donating the proceeds of an auction of his fight equipment to Holocaust survivors.
He said that being in a UFC match was humbling when compared to what Jews had to endure in the Holocaust, and that he tells himself, “fight as if you had an opportunity to fight for them.”
He also urged government to increase help to Holocaust survivors, with many living in poverty.
Levy, a member of the Federation of Israeli Martial Arts Hall of Fame, has been involved in mixed martial arts since he was 15-years-old and joined the UFC in 2020.
During the podcast, he talked about how sports is a venue that can transcend politics.
“I’ve trained many times with Palestinians, Muslims, Christians and we all get along just fine. And on the mats you can train, and kick each others asses, and still be friends, and leave politics out of it, even if you disagree on politics,” he said.
His goal as a mixed martial arts athlete is to set an example as an Israeli and a Jew who can stand up for himself in a fight, he explained.
“I think you represent who you are and what you are in everything you do, just how you talk to people [and] how you handle yourself. For me, I represent Israel and the Jewish people, I think, and therefore when I’m in the cage and fighting, definitely I want to show that we are brave and we can fight, we can take care of ourselves. We are not weak.”
Levy also urged Jews around the world to learn self-defence because “it’s a dangerous world out there.”