Dana White News

Adam Martin - January 13, 2021

UFC president Dana White broke down this weekend’s welterweight bout between “two legendary savages” Carlos Condit and Matt Brown. Condit and Brown are two of the most exciting welterweights of the past decade and this dream fight has been one that the UFC has tried to book twice in the past, both times unsuccessfully. The fight was booked in both 2013 and 2018, with the bout falling off each time. The promotion then booked this fight for the third time, and it’s set to take place as the co-main event of this Saturday’s UFC on ABC 1 event. The hope is that with the fight just a few days away, fans will finally get to see this fight.

Tom Taylor - January 13, 2021

UFC President Dana White says brain injury is “just part of the gig” for those who compete in combat sports like mixed martial arts. Brain injury has been a widely discussed topic inside the MMA bubble this year. Earlier this month, the UFC donated $1 million to the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. Then, earlier this week, MMA Fighting published an in-depth long-form article on UFC veteran Spencer Fisher’s struggle with CTE. In the article, Fisher detailed problems with dizzy spells, reduced motor function, memory loss, depression, and more. He and his wife also discussed their struggle to find and pay for the treatment he needs.

Adam Martin - January 11, 2021

UFC president Dana White gave an update on the lack of talks with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, saying it’s because “the world imploded.” White and Mayweather were famously photographed sitting courtside at an LA Clippers vs. Boston Celtics NBA game in Los Angeles.  But that was back in December 2019, well before COVID-19 caused a global pandemic. White had said at the time of the meeting that he had an agreement with Mayweather to work together in 2020, but that never happened. White said last summer that he had some talks going on with Mayweather, but so far, those talks have gone nowhere.

Adam Martin - January 11, 2021

UFC president Dana White said that featherweight contender Zabit Magomedsharipov will fight again within the next three months. The Russian had a nightmarish 2020 as he didn’t fight at all due to a proposed bout with Yair Rodriguez falling through on two occasions. The UFC keeps trying to book this awesome matchup, but it keeps falling apart. The promotion actually tried to book it way back at UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till in September 2018, but Rodriguez withdrew due to injury. The two were re-booked to fight at UFC Vegas in August 2020, but Rodriguez once again withdrew due to injury. The UFC was hoping to match them up for an event this past October, but that fight also fell through.

Adam Martin - January 11, 2021

UFC president Dana White says he is not ruling out an immediate title shot for former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. Dillashaw is set to return from his two-year suspension by USADA in January 2019 for performance-enhancing drugs. The former bantamweight kingpin recently shared photos of his current physique, and he looks like he’s ready to come back and dominate. Considering he’s a big name in the division and a former champion, we’ve seen fighters such as Jose Aldo and Rob Font call him out. They are both top-10 opponents, but it’s possible Dillashaw is chasing after even bigger fish.

Adam Martin - January 11, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang could make her next title defense in Asia, according to UFC president Dana White. Zhang is one of the top female fighters in the sports and she is looking to make a grand return to the Octagon in 2021, following a “Fight of the Year” performance against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 in March 2020. Zhang was not able to fight again following the COVID-19 pandemic, but she is hoping to fight again in the next few months. While most assumed she would make her next title defense in Las Vegas or on Fight Island, there is now a chance she could fight in Asia instead.

Tom Taylor - January 11, 2021

UFC President Dana White believes a potential fight between Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya should happen in the light heavyweight division, not at heavyweight. Jones and Adesanya are two of the biggest stars in MMA at present, and White has made no secret of his interest in a fight between them. That being said, it’s unclear what weight class this potential superfight would occur in.

Tom Taylor - January 11, 2021

UFC President Dana White says he’s repaired his relationship with Conor McGregor after being in “a bad place” with the Irishman last year. White and McGregor have butted heads several times over the years, most recently in mid-2020, when the Irish MMA star released some of his DMs with the UFC boss. Unsurprisingly, White was upset that what he believed was a private conversation was leaked to the public, particularly because he and McGregor were speaking about aging UFC veteran Diego Sanchez.

Adam Martin - January 10, 2021

UFC president Dana White hinted that Robert Whittaker will have to fight again, saying “I don’t think he’s going to get a title shot next.” After beating Jared Cannonier at UFC 254, most figured that the UFC matchmakers would look to book a rematch between Whittaker and UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, the man who took his title back at UFC 243. Instead, Adesanya is moving up to fight UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in March. That leaves Whittaker in a tough position because he’s done enough to earn a rematch against Adesanya, but at the same time, the champ may not return to 185lbs.

Adam D Martin - January 10, 2021

UFC president Dana White says he will “press” Khabib Nurmagomedov to fight again, and he likes the Conor McGregor rematch. Nurmagomedov is still the UFC lightweight champion but his status as an active fighter is up in the air following his quasi-retirement. After submitting Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from the sport. However, White has said that he will talk to Nurmagomedov in Abu Dhabi in an effort to convince him to return for one more fight and try and reach the perfect 30-0 mark.

Adam Martin - January 7, 2021

Dana White confirmed the UFC 257 main event winner between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier will be in line for a title lightweight shot. The UFC lightweight title is currently held by Khabib Nurmagomedov, though the champion is currently in a quasi-retirement and may or may not fight again. The Russian will meet with White on Fight Island to try and hash out a deal. He could agree to defend his belt again, vacate it, or the UFC could create an interim belt. There are many question marks about the belt, but we now know who at least one half of the next lightweight title bout will be.

Adam Martin - January 7, 2021

The UFC announced on Thursday that it has contributed a one million dollar donation towards brain research with the Cleveland Clinic. The one million dollar donation is set to help fund brain studies over the next five years with the Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. According to ESPN.com, the Cleveland Clinic has been working on the in-depth Professional Athletes Brain Health Study for a decade, and the UFC has been right there with them every step of the way. According to the report, the UFC has donated over two million dollars over three rounds of support.

Adam Martin - January 6, 2021

UFC president Dana White says the UFC is targeting April for the rematch between UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou. White confirmed several months ago that Ngannou was next in line to fight Miocic for the belt, and a March date was originally targeted for the rematch between the two heavyweights. However, the date has been pushed back once again after the promotion recently announced Jan Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya are heading UFC 259 in March, and the UFC is now targeting April for Miocic vs. Ngannou. White confirmed as much in a recent Q&A with fans.

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2021

UFC President Dana White says the promotion’s controversial official rankings are very important to its matchmaking strategy. The UFC rankings have been the subject of controversy at many points since they were introduced. Most notably, it was revealed in 2019 that many of the media members that vote on the UFC rankings do not even regularly cover the sport.

Harry Kettle - January 6, 2021

UFC president Dana White has given his thoughts on the constant debate surrounding the potential introduction of open scoring in mixed martial arts. The idea behind open scoring is that everyone would be well aware of how the judges are scoring the fight as the contest goes on, whether it be a three round affair or a five round main event.

Cole Shelton - January 5, 2021

Shogun Rua is officially retired, according to Dana White. After Rua lost to Paul Craig at UFC 255, many thought that would be it for the Brazilian MMA legend but there was no formal retirement. Now, however, on an ESPN+ livestream, Dana White has revealed Rua has retired.

Cole Shelton - January 4, 2021

Dana White has sent a warning to any fight fans that plan on illegally streaming UFC 257. In the main event of UFC 257, Conor McGregor is set to face Dustin Poirier in a highly-anticipated fight. The event will do massive pay-per-view numbers but illegal streams have been a problem for combat sports so White plans on putting an end to that.

Chris Taylor - January 2, 2021

Former UFC champ-champ Henry Cejudo continues to take jabs at Dana White over the promotions current flyweight title holder Deiveson Figueiredo. Despite retiring from mixed martial arts immediately following his TKO victory over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249, Cejudo (16-2 MMA) has been relentless in his callouts of fellow fighters.