Dana White trashes Bob Arum over ratings on ESPN: “Cornhole almost out-rated Top Rank”

UFC President Dana White has taken another shot at boxing promoter Bob Arum, this time criticizing the ratings for Top Rank’s recent return to ESPN.

Top Rank returned to ESPN early last week, just a few days before the UFC’s most recent card.

According to White, the boxing event did poorly in terms of viewership, narrowly beating out the pseudo-sport of Cornhole.

“So many people are watching, this is everybody’s time to shine,” White said after UFC on ESPN 10 (via Fox News). “The sport is at a whole other level right now, you know what I mean? When we first started on ESPN, if you look at the ESPN totem pole, you had NFL, Major League Baseball, NBA, these guys, right? And we were down like … we were one notch above Cornhole. OK? Now we sit in a much better place on the ESPN totem pole than we did when we signed this deal a year and a half ago.

“By the way, Cornhole almost out-rated Top Rank the other night for their fights,” White added. “So congratulations to Top Rank. Bob Arum, give him a shout out. Good job, Bob. You’re f**king brilliant. You d**khead.”

According to Boxing Scene, Top Rank’s Tuesday return to ESPN 370,000 viewers.

White and Arum have a long history of butting heads. One of the pair’s most recent exchanges began when Arum criticized White for aggressively pushing ahead with UFC events during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Good luck to them,” Arum told Boxing Scene ahead of the UFC’s trio of events in Jacksonville, Florida in May. “I just hope that they’re not endangering the safety of anyone. But this kind of cowboy behavior doesn’t do anybody any good.

“We’re not gonna be cowboys, like Dana White. I don’t wanna get politics involved, but I have really very little respect for Dana and what he’s doing.”

What do you think of this latest skirmish between Dana White and Bob Arum?