LOS ANGELES — As FX preps for the March 9 premiere of its newly revamped UFC reality-competition series "Ultimate Fighter Live," contestant Dakota Cochrane, 25, is officially speaking about his past as a gay-for-pay performer on the popular paysite SeanCody.com.
Cochrane told MMAFighting.com, "It's definitely a decision I regret. If I would have known what would happen I definitely wouldn't have done it. But I had money issues and I needed help. I went there to do pictures, and they started throwing pretty high numbers in front of me. I didn't really think. It was a big mistake."
Cochrane reportedly earned $80,000 from his work in porn, but admits to the site that he "hated it." He also states that he's not gay and that he quit the business shortly after telling his fiance, with whom he has two children.
Mixed martial arts fans first learned about Cochrane's controversial past on Monday when MMA site MiddleEasy.com ran with the story, which was originally broken by gay blog TomBucchusOnTheVine.com in October.
According MMAFighting, Cochrane disclosed all of his background information to UFC producers prior to being selected as one of "Ultimate Fighter Live's" 32 lightweight fighters.
Said Cochrane, "I think it's a little bit courageous for both of us. I could just hide in a hole and no one would know except for the people close to me. And to them, I was up front. I let them know right away so it wasn’t anything that could come back and bite them in the butt. I think maybe they respected that a little bit."
Prior to scandal, Cochrane was best known for his victory over World Extreme Cagefighting champ Jamie Varner at last year's Titan Fighting Championship 20. He currently holds an 11-2 pro MMA record.
