Dana White News
Dana White reacts to Oron Kahlon calling Afghani fighter Javid Basharat a ‘terrorist’ during their faceoff on Contender Series
Harry Kettle - October 27, 2021
UFC president Dana White has given his thoughts on Oron Kahlon calling Afghani opponent Javid Basharat a “terrorist”. During the weigh-ins for last night’s Contender Series, Kahlon missed weight and proceeded to label Basharat a terrorist in front of UFC officials and the media. It doesn’t appear as if anything came of it in terms of official punishment, but when they got inside the Octagon, Basharat made him pay with a dominant performance that was capped off by a nice submission victory.
Josh Thomson claims Nate Diaz is leaving the UFC: "I want you guys all to know this, Nate is leaving"
Christopher Taylor - October 25, 2021
Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson claims MMA superstar Nate Diaz is leaving the UFC after his next fight. Diaz (20-13 MMA) was last seen in action at June’s UFC 263 event, where despite mounting a late comeback, he ultimately suffered a unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards. The setback marked Nate’s second in a row and put him on the final fight of his current contract with the UFC.
Dana White responds to criticism from former UFC champ Junior dos Santos: "Move on to these other promotions and make crazy money"
Christopher Taylor - October 25, 2021
Dana White has responded after former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos slammed the promotion for their lack of “professionalism”. Dos Santos (21-9 MMA) was cut by the Ultimate Fighting Championship shortly following his TKO loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 256. That setback had marked the Brazilians fourth in a row, with all four losses coming by way of technical knockout.
PFL Founder Donn Davis fires back at Dana White for comments about Kayla Harrison
Drake Riggs - October 25, 2021
FORT LAUDERDALE — Kayla Harrison will be a free agent after this Wednesday’s PFL 2021 Championship. Appearing during the fight week’s media day, Harrison answered the usual round of questions – lastly focusing on comments from Dana White earlier in the day.
Dana White reveals the fight night weights of Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori at UFC Vegas 41
Adam Martin - October 24, 2021
UFC president Dana White revealed the fight night weights of Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori at Saturday night’s UFC Vegas 41 event. Costa and Vettori were originally scheduled to fight in a 185lbs middleweight bout in the main event of UFC Vegas 41, but Costa showed up to fight week heavy. Because he was unable to make the 185lbs limit, the UFC then talked about booking the fight at a catchweight of 195lbs, instead. But Costa could not make that weight, either, and the UFC was finally forced to move the fight all the way up to 205lbs in the light heavyweight division. Because Costa was so heavy, he was forced to give Vettori 30% of his purse.
Dana White confirms the UFC is working on a fight for Nate Diaz: "He's got one more fight, Tony (Ferguson) wasn't one of the guys we were working on"
Chris Taylor - October 23, 2021
Dana White provided an update on superstar Nate Diaz during tonight’s UFC Vegas 41 post-fight press conference in Nevada. Diaz (20-13 MMA) was last seen in action at June’s UFC 263 event, where despite mounting a late comeback, he ultimately suffered a unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards.
Dana White reacts to Vettori defeating Costa, says Paulo will no longer be allowed to compete at 185lbs
Chris Taylor - October 23, 2021
Dana White shared his thoughts on tonight’s UFC Vegas 41 main event between Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa during the post-fight presser. The former middleweight title challengers, Costa and Vettori, were originally supposed to collide at their natural fighting weight of 185lbs. However, earlier in the week ‘The Eraser’ revealed he would not be able to make weight for the contest and the bout was utlimately moved to light heavyweight, much to the chagrin of UFC President Dana White.
Fedor Emelianenko blasts UFC president Dana White: "He has no respect towards fighters"
Adam D Martin - October 20, 2021
MMA legend and current Bellator heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko blasted UFC president Dana White, saying “he has no respect towards fighters.” Emelianenko is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, having fought for many of the top fight promotions in the sport’s history. The Russian currently stars for Bellator MMA, where this weekend he fights UFC veteran Tim Johnson in a heavyweight bout that headlines Bellator 269. There is a chance that this could be the final fight of Emelianenko’s incredible MMA career, and if it’s the case, then he would do so without having fought for the UFC. It’s arguably the biggest “what if” story in mixed martial arts history as Emelianenko was never able to prove his heavyweight greatness at the UFC level.
Carla Esparza plans on waiting for UFC title shot despite warning from Dana White
Adam D Martin - October 14, 2021
Carla Esparza says she plans on waiting for a UFC women’s strawweight title shot despite a warning from UFC president Dana White. Esparza is currently riding a five-fight win streak and, in her last appearance, absolutely smashed the face of Yan Xiaonan with ground-and-pound en route to a second-round TKO stoppage and a 50k POTN bonus. In addition, Esparza holds a notable win over Marina Rodriguez during her win streak, who looks to be a top contender following her recent victory over Mackenzie Dern. Overall, Esparza has done everything that she has had to in order to get a title shot at 115lbs. And yet, the UFC decided that they were going to book a rematch between Rose Namajunas and Weili Zhang that takes place at UFC 268.
Jon Jones reveals he was molested as a child in wake of recent domestic violence arrest: "I got things I need to deal with"
Christopher Taylor - October 13, 2021
Jon Jones revealed that he was molested as a child and has things he needs to “deal with” following his recent domestic violence arrest. The former UFC light heavyweight kingpin, Jones (26-1 MMA), was arrested last month on charges of battery, domestic violence, and injuring / tampering with a vehicle.
Dana White discusses the UFC release of Luis Pena and if something similar could happen to Jon Jones
Harry Kettle - October 13, 2021
UFC president Dana White has spoken about the UFC release of Luis Pena and whether something similar could happen to Jon Jones. Just a few days ago Luis Pena was arrested on charges of domestic violence, just a few months removed from being arrested for robbery, battery, and criminal mischief. While the outcome of his case has yet to be determined, the UFC acted swiftly by releasing Pena from his contract with the promotion.
Dana White shares his thoughts on Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3: "It was exactly what boxing needed"
Christopher Taylor - October 12, 2021
UFC President Dana White shared his thoughts on last weekend’s Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder trilogy following tonight’s Contender Series event. Fury put his WBO and The Ring heavyweight titles on the line last Saturday in Las Vegas, when he squared off with Wilder for a third time.
Dana White says UFC fighters do not want the media or fans to know how much money they make
Adam D Martin - October 6, 2021
UFC president Dana White says that UFC fighters do not want the media or fans to know how much money they make with the company. Fighter pay is often a touchy topic with White and the UFC. There have been lots of stories about UFC fighters being paid poorly as of late, and boxer Jake Paul has been leading the charge to get the fighters a bigger percentage of the UFC’s revenue pie. Despite the numbers saying otherwise, White has remained adamant that UFC fighters are paid quite well. In fact, that’s one of the reasons why White says the fighters want their numbers private despite there being fans and media who are curious as to what they make.
Dana White responds to Henry Cejudo’s request for a UFC featherweight title shot: “You want to come back and fight Volkanovski and jump the line?”
Adam D Martin - October 6, 2021
UFC president Dana White responded to Henry Cejudo’s recent request for a UFC featherweight title shot against Alexander Volkanovski. Volkanovski defeated Brian Ortega at UFC 266 last month to mark his latest title defense at 145lbs. Following the fight, Cejudo made it clear that he wants a piece of the champ. “The Messenger” has called out “The Great” in the past for a fight, but until now, White hasn’t taken his calls for the fight seriously. However, Cejudo said that he has a meeting with White this week to talk about the fight, and the UFC president admitted that the two will have a chat about the Volkanovski fight. However, White calls it “a tough conversation.”
Dana White reacts to the tragic death of BKFC fighter Justin Thornton: “First of all, is anybody shocked?”
Harry Kettle - October 6, 2021
UFC president Dana White has given his thoughts on the recent passing of BKFC fighter Justin Thornton. It was confirmed just a few days ago that Thornton had died due to injuries sustained following his 20-second knockout defeat at BKFC 20. There’s been an outpouring of support from the mixed martial arts community ever since then with many paying tribute to the 38-year-old and what he achieved in the sport.
Dana White calls exhibition matches 'bullsh*t loophole' for 'guys who shouldn't be fighting'
Drake Riggs - October 5, 2021
Dana White is not a fan of exhibition matches. The UFC boss recently shared his lack of interest in mixed rules bouts after the announcement of ONE Championship matching Demetrious Johnson against Rodtang Jitmuangnon. Well, with the continuing trend of old legends like Vitor Belfort and Evander Holyfield squaring off in boxing exhibitions, White’s not a fan of those either.
Dana White explains thought process behind UFC 267 interim bantamweight title fight: "We had to do the interim title"
Adam Martin - September 29, 2021
UFC president Dana White explained his thought process behind the UFC 267 interim bantamweight belt, saying “we had to do the interim title.” Sterling defeated Yan via fourth-round DQ back at UFC 259 in May to become the new UFC bantamweight champion. The UFC booked the rematch to take place at UFC 267 in October, but the fight was canceled when Sterling pulled out due to injuries. With Sterling out of the fight, the UFC called upon top contender Cory Sandhagen to take on Yan at UFC 267. And despite the bantamweight title being fought for six months ago, the promotion decided that the best course of action was to make a new interim title fight at UFC 267.
Dana White believes Brian Ortega’s corner should have stopped the fight with Alex Volkanovski after round four
Harry Kettle - September 29, 2021
UFC president Dana White believes Brian Ortega’s corner should’ve stopped the fight with Alexander Volkanovski after the fourth round. Last Saturday night at UFC 266, fans saw one of the best featherweight title fights of all time as Alexander Volkanovski dug deep to secure a huge win over Brian Ortega – ensuring he remains the king of the mountain at 145 pounds.