Dana White News

Dana White slams Tyron Woodley ahead of boxing match Jake Paul: “He hasn't won a fight in 3 years in something that he's actually supposed to be good at”
Adam D Martin - June 13, 2021
UFC president Dana White slammed Tyron Woodley ahead of the Jake Paul boxing match, saying that he hasn’t won an MMA fight in three years. Woodley recently concluded his UFC contract following four straight losses to Vicente Luque, Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns, and Kamaru Usman. Not long after this contract expired, Woodley agreed to terms with Paul for a boxing match later this summer. The two will now meet on August 28 in a highly-anticipated boxing match between the YouTuber Paul and the former UFC welterweight champion Woodley. But while the fight seems destined to be a pay-per-view blockbuster, it doesn’t appear as though White is a fan of it.

Leon Edwards reacts after Dana White reaffirms that Colby Covington is next for UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman
Adam D Martin - June 13, 2021
Leon Edwards reacted after UFC president Dana White reaffirmed that Colby Covington is next in line for UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman. Edwards defeated Nate Diaz via unanimous decision in a five-round fight at UFC 263 on Saturday night. The win was Edwards’ ninth victory in a row, save for a No Contest with Belal Muhammad earlier this year. The Brit looks like he is ready to compete for a title and he’s hoping that he gets the opportunity to get his rematch with the champ Usman later this year. But according to White, the next title shot is still going to go to Covington.

Jon Jones sends a daunting message to UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou: "Remember you’re not a champ until you defend that title"
Christopher Taylor - June 11, 2021
Jon Jones has sent Francis Ngannou a message after catching word that the reigning UFC heavyweight champion is still holding out for a fight. After Ngannou knocked out Stipe Miocic in their rematch at UFC 260 to claim the promotions heavyweight strap, it was expected that his first title defense would come against Jones.

Dana White shoots down the notion that Israel Adesanya has cleaned out the middleweight division ahead of UFC 263
Adam D Martin - June 10, 2021
UFC president Dana White shot down the notion that 185lbs champ Israel Adesanya has cleaned out the middleweight division ahead of UFC 263. Adesanya returns back to the middleweight division this Saturday night when he takes on Marvin Vettori in a rematch that headlines UFC 263. Coming off of his first career loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259, Adesanya is eager to get back into the Octagon and bounce back into the win column. Had he won the fight with Blachowicz, it’s likely that Adesanya would have given up his belt and continued to fight at the higher-weight class. But since he lost the fight, Adesanya is back down at 185lbs, and his first order of business is Vettori.

Nick Diaz "will fight this year," confirms Dana White: "It's looking promising"
Adam D Martin - June 8, 2021
UFC president Dana White says that fan-favorite Nick Diaz “will fight again” this year after recently revealing he wanted to make a comeback. Diaz was a guest at UFC 261 in Jacksonville in April and he made it known at that time that he was in discussions with the UFC about a potential comeback. The last time we saw Diaz fight was in 2015 when he fought to a No Contest against Anderson Silva. It’s now 2021 and Diaz is hoping to get back into the Octagon and fight for the first time in six years. However, while Diaz himself wants to come back, White was initially skeptical about it. In fact, the UFC president previously suggested that it might not be a good idea for his return.

Dana White rips Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul: “That wasn’t a f*cking boxing match”
Christopher Taylor - June 7, 2021
UFC President Dana White slammed all of the “dummies” who paid money to watch Floyd Mayweather box Logan Paul. Last night in Miami, Mayweather (50-0) squared off with YouTube sensation Logan Paul (0-1) in an exhibition boxing match slated for eight rounds.

Dana White blasts Paulo Costa: "You’re in no position to be talking about crazy money after your last performance"
Cole Shelton - June 7, 2021
Dana White isn’t a fan of Paulo Costa demanding more money. After it was revealed Costa was out of his main event fight against Jared Cannonier on August 21, he took to social media to say the UFC needs to pay him as a main event fighter. He also says he never signed the contract which White says is not true as the UFC president blasted the Brazilian.

Ariel Helwani leaves ESPN, reportedly in talks with Action Network
Harry Kettle - June 7, 2021
MMA reporter Ariel Helwani has confirmed that he will be leaving ESPN later this month after three successful years with the company. Helwani is one of the most famous mixed martial arts journalists of his generation and will continue to hold that title for as long as he decides to cover the sport. Prior to this he spent time with MMA Fighting, before making what he considered to be the dream move of his career by jumping ship to ESPN.

Dana White on Joshua Fabia fixed fight accusations: 'I could give a flying f*ck what he says'
Drake Riggs - June 2, 2021
Dana White has found himself on the receiving end of multiple accusations from Joshua Fabia since things fell apart with Diego Sanchez. Sanchez was recently released from the UFC ahead of a scheduled Donald Cerrone matchup after Fabia began seeking out medical records and releasing questionable backstage footage. Unfortunately for Sanchez as a result, he’s left floating through free agency with White contemplates whether or not to bring him back.

Dana White explains why Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal were not the TUF 29 coaches
Adam D Martin - June 2, 2021
UFC president Dana White explained why welterweight rivals Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal were not the TUF 29 coaches. Many fans were surprised when the UFC named featherweights Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega as coaches for this season of TUF. Both fighters are tremendous talents, but for months it was rumored that the show would have Covington and Masvidal as the coaches. So when it was revealed to be Volkanovski and Ortega, some fans were let down.

Dana White reacts to Jake Paul boxing match: "Tyron Woodley doesn't look like the Tyron Woodley of the past"
Adam D Martin - June 2, 2021
UFC president Dana White reacted to the Jake Paul boxing match, saying that “Tyron Woodley doesn’t look like the Tyron Woodley of the past.” It was officially announced this week that Paul will take on Woodley on August 28 in a professional boxing match on Showtime PPV. Paul has looked good in his first three boxing matches, winning all of them including a knockout win over Ben Askren in his last outing. Following that fight, there were rumors that he could take on Woodley next, Askren’s longtime friend and training partner, and the fight was officially booked this week. It was made possible to make because Woodley’s contract with the UFC recently expired following a stoppage loss to Vicente Luque and the promotion decided not to sign him to a new deal.

Dana White claims the UFC will soon introduce full-time health benefits to their fighters
Adam D Martin - June 2, 2021
UFC president Dana White claims the world’s leading MMA promotion will “soon” introduce full-time health benefits to their fighters. White replied to a fan on Instagram who asked him if the UFC would consider having a full-time health benefits package for its fighters so they can deal with issues once their fighting careers are over. For the first time in over a decade, White revealed that the UFC is working on such a benefits package for its athlete (via MMAjunkie.com).

Dana White reveals potential locations for upcoming UFC pay-per-view cards
Adam D Martin - May 27, 2021
UFC president Dana White has revealed the potential locations of upcoming UFC pay-per-view cards, saying he’s looking at several U.S. cities. The UFC has begun to visit different cities in the United States now that the country is opening back up following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The UFC has already held two pay-per-view events, UFC 261 and UFC 262, in Jacksonville, Florida, and Houston, Texas, respectively, and next month heads to Phoenix, Arizona for UFC 263. The promotion then heads back to Las Vegas, Nevada in July for UFC 264 before going back to Houston in August for UFC 265 with the rematch between Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis.

Diego Sanchez can "pick up the phone and call me," says Dana White
Adam D Martin - May 27, 2021
UFC president Dana White said that former Ultimate Fighter winner Diego Sanchez can “pick up the phone and call” him after being released. White recently released Sanchez from the UFC after he got into a disagreement with the promotion about the release of medical records. In addition, Sanchez’s former manager Joshua Fabia also played a role in the release as he got into an argument with UFC employees on Fight Island that didn’t necessarily help Sanchez’s cause with the UFC.

Dana White says UFC looking for backup fighter for Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier trilogy fight
Adam D Martin - May 27, 2021
UFC president Dana White confirmed that the UFC is looking for a backup fighter for the Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier trilogy fight. McGregor and Poirier headline UFC 264, which takes place on July 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two rivals have previously met twice, first in 2014 with McGregor knocking Poirier out at UFC 178, and then meeting again at UFC 257 earlier this year when Poirier returned the favor to McGregor with a knockout win of his own. This summer, the two rivals meet for the third and presumably the final time with everything on the line.

Cris Cyborg says Dana White blocked potential grappling match between her and Miesha Tate
Drake Riggs - May 26, 2021
Out of all the opponents Cris “Cyborg” Justino has fought in her career, Miesha Tate never wound up being one of them. The former UFC bantamweight champion in Tate is currently set to make her return to MMA action after a five-year retirement. However, it seemed as if she and Cyborg had a real possibility of testing themselves against one another.

Mackenzie Dern says Marina Rodriguez fight isn't done despite Dana White announcing it
Adam D Martin - May 26, 2021
UFC women’s strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern says the Marina Rodriguez fight isn’t done despite UFC president Dana White announcing it. White revealed last week that the UFC is targeting a matchup between Dern and Rodriguez, two of the top-10 women’s strawweights in the world. However, Dern says that the fight isn’t done just yet. Speaking to AG Fight, Dern said that the UFC has offered her the fight with Rodriguez as the main event for the July 31 UFC Fight Night card. However, Dern said that Rodriguez isn’t ready to fight on that date, and Dern hopes she gets someone else as her ambitious plan includes fighting someone in July and then fighting again in September.

Dana White views Tatiana Suarez as potential title contender at 125lbs, but believes she will be "a little rusty"
Adam Martin - May 23, 2021
UFC president Dana White says he views Tatiana Suarez as a potential title contender at 125lbs but he believes she will be “a little rusty.” Suarez announced this week that she plans on returning to the Octagon later this year as a flyweight. The former Ultimate Fighter winner was viewed by many as a future title contender at 115lbs, but she has missed the last two years of action due to a neck injury and other issues. Now that she’s ready to fight again, Suarez likes the idea of moving up to 125lbs, where she would be chasing the belt held by UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. There are fewer contenders at 125lbs and it’s conceivable that even just one big win for Suarez could be enough to earn her a title shot against Shevchenko.