Dana White: A lot of MMA media “are going to get laid off pretty soon”

UFC President Dana White is adamant that, as of yet, no UFC employees have been laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic. That being said, White recognizes that many business are feeling the pinch during these unprecedented time, and forecasted that many members of the MMA media will soon find themselves on the chopping block.

White discussed the topic in a recent interview with Yahoo! Sports, first assuring that all of “his people” are safe from potential layoffs.

“No layoffs in the UFC,” White said (transcript via Bloody Elbow). “None of my people will be laid off. Not happening.”

White continued, acknowledging that many people will soon be struggling to put food on the table. He predicted many of the jobless will be MMA journalists and content creators—some of whom criticized his plans of keeping the UFC running during the pandemic.

“A lot of people are losing their jobs, and can’t pay their bills,” White said. “People like to talk s**t. People think they know me. They don’t know anything about me. You find out who the real people are when shit goes bad… Let me tell you what, all the people that are with me, are with me. I will always take care of my people.

“A lot of the media were going crazy about me trying to pull off the fight last weekend. A lot of the media are going to get laid off pretty soon,” White added. “This is just the beginning. We haven’t even had talks about going back to normal yet. When we get back to ‘normal,’ it’s going to be a very long time before things are normal again.”

This is not the first shot White has taken at the MMA media of late. The UFC boss recently referred to the people who cover the sport as “the weakest, wimpiest people on earth.”

While it’s great that Dana White has avoided laying off any UFC employees of late, the promotion has cut a number of fighters since the coronavirus pandemic began. Food for thought.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/27/2020.