Dana White News

Chris Taylor - January 21, 2018

Dana White discusses Francis Ngannou’s first UFC setback and what could come next for Stipe Miocic. "I don't see why he couldn't fight at heavyweight."@danawhite asked @dc_mma if he'd be interested in a title shot with @StipeMiocicUFC. Can we get this, please? #UFC220 https://t.co/FljOglKMIB

Justin Golightly - January 20, 2018

As the smoke settles from the announcement that Tony Ferguson will fight Khabib Nurmagomedov potentially for the UFC undisputed lightweight title, it turns out that this is only the beginning of what could be the biggest year for the organization of all time. That is, if half the things Dana White predicts will happen actually come to fruition. In am interview that went down right after the UFC 223 presser, White goes on to say he believes Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar and either Nick or Nate Diaz will fight in 2018. “I’m going to take the odds [that Conor McGregor will fight more than once in 2018]. I’m going to say yes. I’m going to make a lot of money, I’m going to say yes [that Georges St-Pierre fights again this year]. […] I’m going to take the odds again and say yes [that Brock Lesnar will return this year]. I’ll take the yes [that Jon Jones returns as well]. I’m going to go with yes [that one of the Diaz brothers fight again this year too].”

Russell Sai - January 20, 2018

Dana White dodged answering if Conor McGregor will be stripped of his undisputed lightweight title during the Boston press conference On Friday leading up to UFC 220, which takes place today. Instead, White insisted that the winner of Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov “will be the champion.” However, White did state that McGregor’s ideal plan of returning to competition in the Octagon in the third or fourth quarter of 2018 is much too long of a time without an undisputed UFC lightweight title fight.

Drake Riggs - January 19, 2018

"The winner of this fight will be champion." – @DanaWhite on the #UFC223 main event pic.twitter.com/zkcfGMwHk0 — UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 19, 2018

Russell Sai - January 17, 2018

It’s becoming much more clear that Dana White is not going to let Conor McGregor remain the UFC lightweight champion if he does not have plans of fighting until the later part of 2018. Speaking on the Toucher and Rich radio show on Wednesday, White said that the fight between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov is going to take place. In addition, White sounds like he does have plans of stripping the belt from McGregor so the lightweight division can move along.

Justin Golightly - January 17, 2018

Yesterday a ton of reports flooded the net like a tsunami. News broke that Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson wouldn’t just be fighting each other, but that it’d be for the undisputed title after Conor McGregor is stripped. We at BJ Penn followed up with sources close to Tony Ferguson and was able to confirm the news that it was a done deal. Some reports seem to counter the news, but it looks like we were on the right track. Dana White himself just made the news official today: It’s on! Dana White on our show confirmed that Khabib vs. Ferguson is indeed on for UFC 223 in Brooklyn. #UFC

Tom Taylor - January 15, 2018

If things had gone according to plan, Uriah Hall would have battled the retiring Vitor Belfort in the co-main event of last night’s UFC St. Louis card. Regrettably, Hall was hospitalized as the result of a weight-cut gone awry, and forced out of the fight at the last minute. Despite the fact that Hall is reported to have endured seizures in the midst of his botched cut, UFC President Dana White still isn’t happy with him.

Tom Taylor - January 9, 2018

In an era of combat sports where terms like “super fight” and “money fight” are such popular buzzwords, the UFC has been catching some flack for its matchmaking strategy. The widespread worry is that the promotion is focused on booking the most lucrative fights, rather than fights between the best competitors available. In the opinion of UFC Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Epstein, however, these worries are a little unfounded. Epstein defended the UFC’s matchmaking strategy in a recent chat with ESPN, assuring that it’s still based on competition, not profit.

Justin Golightly - January 6, 2018

Dana White wants to launch ZUFFA Boxing and suddenly he’s at war with SHOWTIME and other promoters. He went on a tirade the other day on what he beleived were false SHOWTIME numbers regarding the historic Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather boxing bout. Since then, SHOWTIME executive Stephen Espinoza, who he worked together with to promote the fight, clapped back at his claims. Now Bob Arum has add fuel to the flames in his own, level-headed and precise way. Dana White wanted to talk numbers, so he’s talking numbers. “A lot of what [Dana White] says is inconsistencies but I don’t want to take it apart piece by piece. What’s really happening is the UFC is cratering. You look at the ratings they’re getting and you look at their pay-per-view business, which is way down. Why? Because they don’t have the marquee stars that they had before. Because the UFC model is to keep the money for itself and not pay the fighters the way people in boxing pay the fighters, which is a major part of the revenue. So really, he has a real problem getting a deal that will justify the $4.5 billion price that they sold UFC for and neither FOX or anyone else will come close to that price.”

Russell Sai - January 5, 2018

It’s quite clear that UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is not very fond of Showtime Sports Executive Stephen Espinoza. During the Mayweather vs. McGregor world tour press conference, McGregor felt that he was being set up by Showtime at every chance they got. “The Notorious” called out Espinoza, calling him a “weasel” after his mic was turned off for a period of time during the first stop of the tour in Los Angeles.

Justin Golightly - January 5, 2018

Ahead of a new TV deal the UFC needs and the beginnings of ZUFFA Boxing being worked out, Dana White doesn’t care at all about burning bridges, especially if that bridge is SHOWTIME. They worked together to promote Conor McGregor’s gargauntuan boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, with White saying that the whole thing was an easy experience. However, it looks like that wasn’t the case behind the scenes as White just recently publicly buried them in this recent interview. “Think about this — and I don’t give a sh-t about SHOWTIME’s f-cking full of sh-t press release they put out — [Conor McGregor’s boxing match with Floyd Mayweather] is the biggest fight ever. Ever in combat sports history. The thing did over 6.7 million buys and if the service didn’t drop, we would have gotten closer to 7 million. It was the biggest event ever.”

Tom Taylor - January 3, 2018

UFC President Dana White certainly catches his fair share of criticism. Whether it’s for his profanity-laced diatribes, his ruthless approach to business, or the way he treats his fighter, it seems he’s always under fire for something. Somewhere underneath White’s prickly exterior, however, is a heart of gold, and every now and then, that heart reveals itself. Perhaps the best example of this occured in 2010, when White opened his wallet and paid for the emergency liver-transplant of a seven-month-old baby girl in Thailand.

Justin Golightly - December 30, 2017

From transitioning into a MMA by fighting, to being brought on to help with ZRUFFA Boxing, there has been ton of rumors flying around about Floyd Mayweather joining forces with the UFC. These rumors didn’t get born on some forums or on Twitter, this info came straight from Dana White’s mouth. It’s info that Mayweather wants stopped. He’s come out against it once, now he’s flat-out accusing White of just bringing up his name to leverage a better TV deal now that their time at FOX is ending. “Their deal with Fox is coming to an end. So, they’re trying to renew a new deal with any company what better name could they use than Floyd Mayweather? Because that’s a great name to use. I would use a Floyd Mayweather so I could leverage also and say, ‘You know what? Floyd’s gonna come back, he’s going to fight in the UFC. Floyd’s gonna come back and he’s gonna fight McGregor in the Octagon.’ So they can leverage and get another big deal. I don’t have anything against Dana White. At all. He’s a remarkable guy, a very, very smart guy. Smart business man. I don’t need to fight again. If I chose to fight in the Octagon, I’m choosing to fight in the Octagon because that’s what I want to do.”

Justin Golightly - December 29, 2017

The New Year is approaching and it is the time for resolutions. Whether they be public or something that you promise yourself, opening up a new calendar is always an excuse to change something about your life. To say that Cris Cyborg has had a roller coaster relationship with the UFC, would be an understatement. However, she’s determined to move into 2018 by putting the past behind her. That includes her grievances with the organization and Dana White himself. “The result of this [good relationship] is persistence, not giving up even in the face of adversity. Everything changed, I’m very happy that they put me in the main event. It shows to my fans that even when it’s difficult, we have to be persistent. [The treatment] It’s getting better, it’s getting better. From the moment that he admitted to having made mistakes, from that moment on, I dropped the negative emotions that I had. Now, let’s work together.”

Justin Golightly - December 27, 2017

Heading into 2018, the middleweight division has been basically returned back to normal, but there is still a big mysterious cloud surrounding Georges St-Pierre. He came, he saw, he conquered, but now no one has any idea what his plans are. The only thing certain, is that he will not be coming back to middleweight after his diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. Fans aren’t the only ones unclear of what St-Pierre’s plans are, Dana White thinks it was a cash grab and he’s out for good. “There is no status [update on Georges St-Pierre]. I knew what he was doing. That’s why I put [a mandatory title defense] into his contract. We both knew what was going on. I don’t know, man. I don’t think the guy wants to fight. I think he jumped in, grabbed some cash and went back to Canada. He ain’t fighting Conor McGregor. If he wants to come back, [UFC welterweight champion] Tyron Woodley or [middleweight champion] Robert Whittaker is waiting for him. They’re both waiting, if Georges wants to come back.” — Dana White speaking to Brett Okamoto of ESPN.

Russell Ess - December 20, 2017

There was a time not long ago that talk of Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor fighting in a boxing match was laughed at by many. Even UFC President Dana White once stated that the fight would never happen. Well, it happened and people tuned in to watch. The world was shocked to hear Joe Rogan say that White told him via text message that Mayweather was serious about fighting in the UFC and that they had been in talks. White then confirmed it himself to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that he and Mayweather have been talking about doing a UFC deal.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2017

It’s no secret that Ben Askren – long regarded as one of the best fighters outside the UFC – is not a fan of UFC President Dana White. Speaking on a recent episode of Submission Radio, Askren reiterated his feelings on White, and he pulled no punches. “Dana White’s a scumbag, I don’t take anything he says with any value,” Askren said (h/t BloodyElbow). “He’s very, very insecure and he abhors anyone who won’t cater to his every whim.”

Justin Golightly - December 15, 2017

Conor McGregor can fight anyone right now, absolutely anyone he wants. That’s good and bad for the UFC. After making more money than his entire UFC career combined in one boxing match, everyone knew it was going to be difficult to get him back to the Octagon. The latest opponent for McGregor that has popped up is none other than Manny Pacquiao, who claimed he was in negotiations to box the Irishman in April. Dana White was quick to shut that down, citing it would result in a lawsuit, but went further last night on social media to put the final nail in the coffin. He’s not Boxing anyone so calm down cry babies.