The unearthing of controversial social media posts from a prominent athlete’s past has become a thing in recent weeks. Former UFC Bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt is the latest to have his resurrected.

Right around the time Garbrandt was calling bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw “classless” during open workouts at LA Live for their bout at UFC 227 Saturday night, a series of Garbrandt’s old tweets featuring rampant use of the N-word resurfaced.

Garbrandt, who on Wednesday dismissed the controversy as nothing more than “teenager” talk, gave a much more detailed explanation to MMA Junkie.

“It’s lyrics. I grew up hanging out with blacks, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, selling drugs. That’s a street word we would always say. It wasn’t like I was using derogatory words toward anyone. That’s how we grew up. It was kind of normal. That’s it. It’s a learning experience for a lot of people to not use that word in this day and age.”

But that didn’t fly with some members of the media, who pointed out that many of the tweets in question were from 2012, when he was 21-years-old. It was a line of questioning that didn’t sit well with Garbrandt and he abruptly ended the interview, but not before one last angry rant.

“Everyone’s just trying to figure out some negativity,” Garbrandt scoffed. “I’m so positive, and I have great things going on this week. Nothing’s deterring me from my focus. That’s that. It’s the last time I’ll address this question. And I’m actually done with this interview and with you, as well.”

Garbrandt and Dillashaw square off for the second time on Saturday after Dillashaw won their first meeting via second round knockout at UFC 217 last November.