Dana White News

Justin Golightly - January 20, 2018

As the smoke settles from the announcement that Tony Ferguson will fight Khabib Nurmagomedov potentially for the UFC undisputed lightweight title, it turns out that this is only the beginning of what could be the biggest year for the organization of all time. That is, if half the things Dana White predicts will happen actually come to fruition. In am interview that went down right after the UFC 223 presser, White goes on to say he believes Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar and either Nick or Nate Diaz will fight in 2018. “I’m going to take the odds [that Conor McGregor will fight more than once in 2018]. I’m going to say yes. I’m going to make a lot of money, I’m going to say yes [that Georges St-Pierre fights again this year]. […] I’m going to take the odds again and say yes [that Brock Lesnar will return this year]. I’ll take the yes [that Jon Jones returns as well]. I’m going to go with yes [that one of the Diaz brothers fight again this year too].”

Russell Sai - January 20, 2018

Dana White dodged answering if Conor McGregor will be stripped of his undisputed lightweight title during the Boston press conference On Friday leading up to UFC 220, which takes place today. Instead, White insisted that the winner of Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov “will be the champion.” However, White did state that McGregor’s ideal plan of returning to competition in the Octagon in the third or fourth quarter of 2018 is much too long of a time without an undisputed UFC lightweight title fight.

Drake Riggs - January 19, 2018

"The winner of this fight will be champion." – @DanaWhite on the #UFC223 main event pic.twitter.com/zkcfGMwHk0 — UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 19, 2018

Russell Sai - January 18, 2018

At this moment, which fighter would you like to see matched up against Conor McGregor? Many say that UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson makes the most sense. Many others are still hot on the idea of a Nate Diaz trilogy. However, according to Dana White, there are a ton of people that are intrigued by a Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov scrap.

Justin Golightly - January 17, 2018

Yesterday a ton of reports flooded the net like a tsunami. News broke that Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson wouldn’t just be fighting each other, but that it’d be for the undisputed title after Conor McGregor is stripped. We at BJ Penn followed up with sources close to Tony Ferguson and was able to confirm the news that it was a done deal. Some reports seem to counter the news, but it looks like we were on the right track. Dana White himself just made the news official today: It’s on! Dana White on our show confirmed that Khabib vs. Ferguson is indeed on for UFC 223 in Brooklyn. #UFC

Tom Taylor - January 15, 2018

If things had gone according to plan, Uriah Hall would have battled the retiring Vitor Belfort in the co-main event of last night’s UFC St. Louis card. Regrettably, Hall was hospitalized as the result of a weight-cut gone awry, and forced out of the fight at the last minute. Despite the fact that Hall is reported to have endured seizures in the midst of his botched cut, UFC President Dana White still isn’t happy with him.

Tom Taylor - January 9, 2018

In an era of combat sports where terms like “super fight” and “money fight” are such popular buzzwords, the UFC has been catching some flack for its matchmaking strategy. The widespread worry is that the promotion is focused on booking the most lucrative fights, rather than fights between the best competitors available. In the opinion of UFC Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Epstein, however, these worries are a little unfounded. Epstein defended the UFC’s matchmaking strategy in a recent chat with ESPN, assuring that it’s still based on competition, not profit.

Tom Taylor - January 9, 2018

Back in the summer of 2016, the UFC was sold to WME-IMG for a whopping 4.2 billion dollars. While this initially looked like a great investment, with fighters like Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey still actively competing, 2017 was a much slower year for the UFC. Conor McGregor didn’t fight at all. Neither did Ronda Rousey. Neither did Brock Lesnar. Jon Jones fought once, but then failed a drug test. Georges St-Pierre fought once, but seems to have re-retired post-fight. You get the picture… According to UFC President Dana White, however, there’s no cause for alarm. In fact, the UFC is still doing great business – such that WME-IMG is probably pretty pleased with their investment.

Russell Sai - January 5, 2018

It’s quite clear that UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is not very fond of Showtime Sports Executive Stephen Espinoza. During the Mayweather vs. McGregor world tour press conference, McGregor felt that he was being set up by Showtime at every chance they got. “The Notorious” called out Espinoza, calling him a “weasel” after his mic was turned off for a period of time during the first stop of the tour in Los Angeles.

Justin Golightly - January 5, 2018

Ahead of a new TV deal the UFC needs and the beginnings of ZUFFA Boxing being worked out, Dana White doesn’t care at all about burning bridges, especially if that bridge is SHOWTIME. They worked together to promote Conor McGregor’s gargauntuan boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, with White saying that the whole thing was an easy experience. However, it looks like that wasn’t the case behind the scenes as White just recently publicly buried them in this recent interview. “Think about this — and I don’t give a sh-t about SHOWTIME’s f-cking full of sh-t press release they put out — [Conor McGregor’s boxing match with Floyd Mayweather] is the biggest fight ever. Ever in combat sports history. The thing did over 6.7 million buys and if the service didn’t drop, we would have gotten closer to 7 million. It was the biggest event ever.”

Tom Taylor - January 3, 2018

UFC President Dana White certainly catches his fair share of criticism. Whether it’s for his profanity-laced diatribes, his ruthless approach to business, or the way he treats his fighter, it seems he’s always under fire for something. Somewhere underneath White’s prickly exterior, however, is a heart of gold, and every now and then, that heart reveals itself. Perhaps the best example of this occured in 2010, when White opened his wallet and paid for the emergency liver-transplant of a seven-month-old baby girl in Thailand.

Russell Sai - January 2, 2018

Conor McGregor was described as “obsessed” after he lost to Nate Diaz at UFC 196. Coach John Kavanagh even mentioned that the loss to Diaz stung much worse for the current UFC lightweight champion than the Mayweather loss did. However, according to Dana White, the loss to Mayweather seems to be growing on “The Notorious.” “Conor wants that fight again really bad,” White said recently on FS1 (transcribed by Damon Martin for MMA Weekly). “I told Conor what you did was amazing. I was sitting there with my partner Lorenzo [Fertitta] and I kept saying, ‘Oh my god, we found this kid in Ireland four years ago. He’s going into the sixth round with Floyd Mayweather. He’s going into the seventh round with Floyd Mayweather.’

Justin Golightly - December 29, 2017

The New Year is approaching and it is the time for resolutions. Whether they be public or something that you promise yourself, opening up a new calendar is always an excuse to change something about your life. To say that Cris Cyborg has had a roller coaster relationship with the UFC, would be an understatement. However, she’s determined to move into 2018 by putting the past behind her. That includes her grievances with the organization and Dana White himself. “The result of this [good relationship] is persistence, not giving up even in the face of adversity. Everything changed, I’m very happy that they put me in the main event. It shows to my fans that even when it’s difficult, we have to be persistent. [The treatment] It’s getting better, it’s getting better. From the moment that he admitted to having made mistakes, from that moment on, I dropped the negative emotions that I had. Now, let’s work together.”

Justin Golightly - December 27, 2017

Heading into 2018, the middleweight division has been basically returned back to normal, but there is still a big mysterious cloud surrounding Georges St-Pierre. He came, he saw, he conquered, but now no one has any idea what his plans are. The only thing certain, is that he will not be coming back to middleweight after his diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. Fans aren’t the only ones unclear of what St-Pierre’s plans are, Dana White thinks it was a cash grab and he’s out for good. “There is no status [update on Georges St-Pierre]. I knew what he was doing. That’s why I put [a mandatory title defense] into his contract. We both knew what was going on. I don’t know, man. I don’t think the guy wants to fight. I think he jumped in, grabbed some cash and went back to Canada. He ain’t fighting Conor McGregor. If he wants to come back, [UFC welterweight champion] Tyron Woodley or [middleweight champion] Robert Whittaker is waiting for him. They’re both waiting, if Georges wants to come back.” — Dana White speaking to Brett Okamoto of ESPN.

Russell Ess - December 20, 2017

There was a time not long ago that talk of Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor fighting in a boxing match was laughed at by many. Even UFC President Dana White once stated that the fight would never happen. Well, it happened and people tuned in to watch. The world was shocked to hear Joe Rogan say that White told him via text message that Mayweather was serious about fighting in the UFC and that they had been in talks. White then confirmed it himself to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that he and Mayweather have been talking about doing a UFC deal.

Russell Ess - December 19, 2017

For those that believed that undefeated and retired boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather was just running his mouth about fighting in the UFC, it seems to be a bit more serious than many might have believed. UFC commentator Joe Rogan was speaking with Eddie Bravo recently on his podcast and revealed that he asked Dana White about the rumors of Mayweather talking about a multi-fight billion dollar deal with the UFC. Interestingly, the UFC President told Rogan that they have been talking and Mayweather does have interest in fighting in the Octagon.

Justin Golightly - December 15, 2017

Conor McGregor can fight anyone right now, absolutely anyone he wants. That’s good and bad for the UFC. After making more money than his entire UFC career combined in one boxing match, everyone knew it was going to be difficult to get him back to the Octagon. The latest opponent for McGregor that has popped up is none other than Manny Pacquiao, who claimed he was in negotiations to box the Irishman in April. Dana White was quick to shut that down, citing it would result in a lawsuit, but went further last night on social media to put the final nail in the coffin. He’s not Boxing anyone so calm down cry babies.

Russell Ess - December 11, 2017

UFC President Dana White and longtime boxing promoter Bob Arum are not very fond of one another. When asked about each other by the media, it’s likely that they will both come out with some scathing remarks directed at one another. The tune has not changed as Arum spoke with the media after the Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux card in New York. Arum was asked about White’s plans of getting into boxing promotions and the Top Rank CEO fired away with another boxing vs. MMA fueled response.