Dana White rages against Showtime: “It’s the worst production in all of television”

By Zain Bando - August 17, 2023

When defending his UFC and Power Slap production crews, Dana White did not mince words.

Dana White, Power Slap

White has been the UFC president for 23 years, and according to him, based the vision of the pay-per-view broadcasts on everything Showtime Sports and HBO Sports did wrong.

At the Power Slap 4 post-event press conference, White went on another classic rant that will likely be played for years.

“Watch some of these boxing events that are on,” Dana White said. “I mean, Showtime is f***ing horrible. Those guys suck so bad; you f***ing guys could show up with your f***ing video cameras and do a better job than Showtime. Seriously, it’s the worst production in all of television. F***ing PBS has better f***ing programming than Showtime. It’s horrible. Everybody that works on that f***ing show should be embarrassed.”

White, 54, ventured into the world of Power Slap at the beginning of the year with his “Power Slap: Road to the Title” reality series, which received immense controversy on the heels of White’s domestic violence incident against his wife, Anne.

Nonetheless, don’t expect Dana White or the UFC to change the production strategy anytime soon. The promotion went to an exclusive streaming deal in the United States in 2019, meaning every UFC event, which averages around 40 per year, would air on ESPN or ESPN+ every week. Despite commercials, UFC events are consistent in their run time, ranging between six and seven hours per event.

The UFC’s next event is UFC 292, headlined by Aljamain Sterling and “Suga” Sean O’Malley for the UFC bantamweight strap. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. ET with the early prelims, followed by the televised ESPN and ESPN+ prelims at 8 p.m. ET before being capped off by the pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The card takes place at the TD Garden in Boston, MA, the promotion’s first trip back to the city in four years.

What are your thoughts on Dana White’s comments? Let us know, Penn Nation!