Jeff “El Jefe” Molina is an American mixed martial artist (MMA) who competes in the flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Starting off as a high school wrestler in New Jersey, in his teenage years Molina moved into MMA training. As of early 2024, he has won 11 of his 13 MMA bouts. Since his UFC debut in 2021, he’s won his first three fights.
In March 2023, intimate photos of Molina with another man were leaked to social media. In addressing the controversy the photos caused, Molina came out as bi, but expressed ire both at being outed against his will and at the likely gay-washing that would follow in a moving tweet:
TLDR: I’m bi
Not the way I wanted to do this but the chance to do it when I was ready was taken from me. I’ve tried to keep my dating life private from social media. I’ve dated girls my whole life and suppressed feelings I had throughout high school being on the wrestling team, throughout college pursuing MMA, and even after making part of the dream happen and getting into the UFC...
The thought of my buddies, teammates, and ppl I look up to looking at me different let alone treating me different for something I can’t control was something I couldn’t fathom. In a sport like this where a majority of the fans being the homophobic c————-s they are I didn’t see myself doing this during this part of my career. I wanted to be known for my skills and what I’ve dedicated the last 11 years of my life to and not the "bi ufc fighter" that I’m sure would just be translated to "gay UFC fighter".
Molina is the first openly queer/LGBT male UFC fighter. He wore UFC Pride Month shorts during his fight with Zhalgas Zhumagulov in order to benefit the LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada. Molina expressed surprise and frustration to see fans react negatively to his support in 2022.