Dana White names three UFC fights that failed to meet his expectations

It’s always disappointing when a fight we’re expecting to be a barnburner turns out to be a dud. UFC President Dana White is not immune to that disappointment.

Speaking during a recent AMA on Reddit, the UFC boss was asked to name a few fights that he expected to be great but ended up being stinkers.

He pointed his finger at three matchups (h/t MMA Junkie):

Fan: “What fight do you believe was on your highest expectations but ultimately the biggest let down?”

White: “Yoel [Romero] vs. Israel [Adesanya], [Derrick] Lewis vs. Francis [Ngannou] and [Tyron] Woodley vs. ‘Wonderboy’ [Stephen Thompson].” 

Of the fights White mentioned, Adesanya and Romero fought most recently. The pair battled for the middleweight belt in March, with the champ Adesanya retaining his title with an undeniably slow decision win — despite the fact that the matchup looked incredible on paper.

The second fight White mentioned, Derrick Lewis vs. Francis Ngannou, went down in the summer of 2018. Despite being two of the most ferocious knockout artists in MMA, Lewis and Ngannou engaged in an absolute stinker, throwing almost no offense for three forgettable rounds. Lewis won this one by decision.

As for Woodley and Wonderboy, they actually fought twice, and it’s not clear which fight White is talking about. That being said, their first fight, a 2016 draw, was actually quite entertaining. Their second fight, which Woodley won by decision, was much slower, so it’s more likely that’s the bout White is referencing.

What do you think of these comments from Dana White? Which UFC fights do you think failed to live up to the hype?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/1/2020.