Tag: Dana White

Dana White offers Jon Jones a compromise for desired Alex Pereira fight

UFC CEO Dana White has changed his tune on booking Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira – kind of.

UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] has changed his tune on booking [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] – kind of.

Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) has claimed prior to Saturday’s heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) at UFC 309 that, if he successful, he will not unify belts with interim champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag]. Instead he wants reigning light heavyweight titleholder Alex Pereira, who he said is the only matchup that would keep him from retirement.

White already has voiced his dismay for those comments, saying he will not make the Jones vs. Pereira fight next and “Bones” has the option to either retire or unify with Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC). He stands behind that, but thinks there is a compromise that could be made to satisfy everyone involved.

“Obviously a guy like Jon Jones has had a career where, if he wants something we would do it,” White said on The Pat McAfee Show. “But you can’t just do a fun fight and not fight the interim heavyweight champion, the guy who is next – because if Jon Jones retired on Saturday, Tom Aspinall would be the heavyweight champion.

“Opportunities were given to Jon Jones. He was 23, he was the youngest champion of all time. Now, as he sits where he sits, it’s his obligation to give it to the younger guy to give him that opportunity. If he beats Tom Aspinall, then yes, I would do the Alex Pereira fight.”

It remains to be seen if Jones will be open to taking on Aspinall. He said at UFC 309 that the Brit was “an asshole” and he doesn’t want to do business with him.

UFC 309 takes place at Madison Square Garden. The main card airs on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Dana White explains decision to bring back old gloves before UFC 309

Jon Jones says ditching new gloves that debuted earlier this year was not his request. So why did Dana White scrap them now?

NEW YORK – Ahead of UFC 309, fighters have been notified of a major change.

For Saturday’s event, which takes place at Madison Square Garden, fighters were notified that the old-style gloves will be used rather than the new-style ones that were implemented June 1.

The new glove design was introduced to attempt preventing eye pokes and broken hands. However, since the implementation of the new gloves, the knockout rate has dropped to 22.9 percent, and the decision rate has increased 11.5 percent.

UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] explained why the promotion decided to bring the old gloves back.

“There were a lot of complaints,” White said during Thursday’s UFC 309 press conference. “We originally created these gloves to stop eye pokes and we had good intentions with them. They didn’t work out. People weren’t happy with them.

“So I actually made the decision. I called our chief operating officer, Lawrence (Epstein), and said, ‘I’m switching the gloves. I want the old gloves back.’ …Yes, the new gloves are now the old gloves.”

UFC 309 headliner, heavyweight champion Jon Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC), expressed his frustration with the new gloves ahead of his first title defense against Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC). However, Jones insists that the change in gloves was not something he asked for.

“This was not my request,” Jones said during a UFC 309 media scrum (h/t Carlos Contreras Legaspi). “This was brand new news to me just a few days ago. I’m glad that he hit me with it because it was relieving.”

UFC 309 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Will Donald Trump be at UFC 309? Dana White won’t say for sure

It’s become a sort of tradition for Donald Trump to attend the biggest of UFC events, but will that be the case for UFC 309?

(This story was updated to add new information.)

It’s become a sort of tradition for Donald Trump to attend the biggest of UFC events. Will that be the case for UFC 309?

Combat sports events don’t get much bigger than when they take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, as is the case with UFC 309 headlined by a highly anticipated heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.

President-elect Trump, just more than a week removed from his big win over Vice President Kamala Harris, has a lot on his plate as he continues to make key hires for his second administration before he takes office Jan. 20. But it’s not out of the question that he could make time to attend UFC 309, where good friend and UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] is certain to roll out the figurative red carpet for him. Every time Trump has attended a UFC event, he’s been met with cheers by an MMA fan base that overwhelmingly adores him.

So, will that happen again on Saturday night?

Dana White mum on Donald Trump attending UFC 309

As of Friday afternoon, nothing was concrete and nothing reported about Trump attending UFC 309, although there’s been lots of chatter. After the UFC 309 press conference, White was asked about Trump being in attendance, but the UFC boss wouldn’t say for sure.

“He always gets a good reception wherever we are,” White told a group of reporters. “And, yeah, he’s a fan. He could pop up this weekend. You never know.”

Donald Trump told two UFC 309 fighters he’d be there

A pair of fighters on the card – [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] and [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] – revealed that Trump previously told them he expected to be cageside at MSG.

“He said, ‘I’ll either be there on Nov. 16 because we won the election, or if I lost, I’ll be depressed, and I won’t show up,'” Chandler recently told TMZ. “Obviously he won the election, so it sounds like he’s going to be there.”

Nickal echoed a similar message during an appearance this week on “The Ariel Helwani Show.”

“I think he’s gonna be there,” Nickal said. “He told me a couple of times that he’s gonna be there. He’s the President. … I’m sure that if he’s not (at UFC 309), there was something else that was more important.”

Donald Trump at UFC events

Since his career in politics began with his winning the presidential election in 2016, Trump has tapped into support from the MMA fan base through White and the UFC. The relationship is so close knit that White spoke on Trump’s behalf at the 2016, 2020 (virtually) and 2024 Republican National Conventions. White was at Mar-a-Lago to celebrate with Trump on election night last week.

Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to attend a UFC event when he was cageside for UFC 244 in November 2019 at Madison Square Garden, headlined by Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz for the BMF title. Less than two years later, Trump attended UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which was headlined by the trilogy between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor.

With the 2024 election drawing near, Trump ramped up his attendance of UFC events as he returned at UFC 287 in April 2023 held in Miami. Trump followed that up with a second 2023 appearance in November at UFC 295 in New York. Trump most recently attended UFC 299 this past March in Miami.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Photos: UFC 309 pre-fight press conference from New York

Check out these photos from the UFC 309 press conference in New York City.

Check out these photos from the UFC 309 pre-fight press conference in New York, which featured [autotag]Dana White[/autotag], [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag], [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag], [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag], [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag], [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag], and [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag]. (Photos by Per Haljestam for MMA Junkie)

Dana White hopes Mike Tyson ‘comes out healthy’ in Jake Paul fight

UFC CEO Dana White hopes friend and boxing legend Mike Tyson makes it out of the Jake Paul fight without injuries.

UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] has been good friends with [autotag]Mike Tyson[/autotag] for a long time and is concerned for his health ahead of his return to the boxing ring.

Friday, Tyson (50-6) will step through the ropes at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to take on YouTuber-turned-boxer [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] in an eight-round professional bout, which serves as the main event of the first live sporting event to stream on Netflix.

The matchup has drawn criticism due to the age difference, as Tyson, who is 58, will square off with a much younger Paul (10-1), who is 27. When asked about the fight, White refrained from talking down on the fight and instead offered concerns about Tyson’s health.

“I will not say anything bad about this fight because I love Mike Tyson,” White said on “The Jim Rome Show.” “The only thing that I hope is that Mike comes out of this fight healthy.

“… I just hope he does. At 58 years old, I mean, I’m 55, and obviously, I’ve never been the level of athlete that Mike Tyson is, but 27 vs. 58? It’s hard to consistently work out at that age just for health purposes and not get hurt. To train for something like this? It’s just – I love Mike. I hope he makes a bunch of money on Friday, and I hope he comes out healthy.”

Tyson was last in action four years ago in an exhibition boxing bout against fellow legend Roy Jones Jr. It was a fight in which clearly both fighters were not trying to hurt each other that resulted in a draw. Tyson’s last professional bout was in June 2005 against Kevin McBride. Tyson lost the fight by TKO in the sixth round.

In the late 1980s, Tyson became a legendary force in the world of boxing as the WBC and IBF heavyweight champion. He was a crossover superstar who created viral moments way before the existence of social media. However, the days of Tyson’s prime in the ring are well behind him, and White understands why it would be difficult to turn down a lucrative offer to fight Paul.

“When you’ve accomplished what Mike Tyson has accomplished, and that type of money is offered to you, it’s hard to not,” White said. “It’s about Mike having money issues or anything like that. Mike does fine. Mike does well, but when you have that type of money waved in front of you – I’ve told this story, it’s been told a million times. When Mike was going to fight before, I said, ‘Mike, don’t do this.’ So, I put him on Shark Week. I get a deal done for him to do Shark Week. He’s like, ‘Oh you care about me? I’ve been fighting since I was 12, but you want to throw me in the water with sharks? You’re an idiot.’ And I can’t disagree with him. He’s absolutely right.

“… At the end of the day, it’s none of our business, it’s Mike Tyson’s business. He’s a grown man, he does what he wants to do, and I love him and I just want the best for him.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Paul vs. Tyson.

Jon Jones ‘grateful’ for Dana White’s passionate support of No. 1 P4P status: ‘It’s a huge honor’

Dana White’s has recently gone above and beyond to recognize Jon Jones as the current No. 1 P4P fighter.

In recent weeks, UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] has gone out of his way to recognize heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the promotion.

White became very critical of media members who dropped Jones a few spots on the P4P rankings due to inactivity when other dominant champions, such as Alex Pereira and Islam Makhachev, were more active.

Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) returns to action Nov. 16 at UFC 309 to defend his heavyweight title for the first time against former champ Stipe Miocic. It’s a matchup slated to take place last year, but a Jones injury delayed the fight. Throughout it all, White still views Jones as the No.1 P4P fighter, which the champ greatly appreciates.

“It’s just an honor, that’s all,” a smiling Jones told Kevin Iole. “It’s just a huge honor to even be considered at 37 years old one of the most well-rounded winners in our sport still. It’s a huge honor and I’m just very grateful that my boss, a man who’s sat front row for every fight, all of our fights.

“For him to say, ‘Hey, listen guys, trust me. I know what I’m watching. I know what I’m looking at, and in my opinion, if Jon was the same size as a lot of these other guys, Jon would be in the mix.'”

It wasn’t that White simply supported Jones as the P4P king. The UFC boss got into intense debates about the topic during news conferences, so much so that White’s stance became a meme in online MMA circles.

There’s no doubt that Jones has an established legacy as the best light heavyweight champion in the sport’s history. He added to it by becoming the heavyweight champion last March. Simply put, he’s the consensus GOAT.

However, the P4P ranking is heavily influenced by activity, and Jones has only fought once since leaving the light heavyweight division in 2020. His ranking of No. 3 on the UFC’s official P4P ranking with that schedule is a nod to his legacy as one of the greatest ever to compete.

“I think we have a lot of new fans, a lot of younger fans, who, you know – our sport can be very ‘what have you done for me lately,’ and I think Dana is doing a great job of saying, ‘Hey, let’s wait a minute. Let’s remember what this guy has done,’ and I’m grateful,” Jones said.

“I’m grateful that he’s not allowing the naysayers, or some of the fans to just push me to the side, because I have done a tremendous amount of work for this company. I’ve done it at a very young age, and I did it at very middle age, and I’m doing it at a late age now, and I’m just grateful to be recognized.”

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Despite Dana White’s eagerness to enter boxing, UFC owners see potential investment venture ‘way down the road’

Dana White has recently shown elevated interest in a boxing venture, but UFC owners do not have a potential venture in their current plans.

For years, UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] has teased adding boxing to his promotional portfolio. Despite recent bullish comments on diving into the sport, the UFC owners do not currently share the same vision.

In September, during a Q&A before Callum Walsh’s boxing fight against Przemyslaw Runowski, which aired on UFC Fight Pass, White said he was working toward “big announcements” with his boxing involvement.

“If you know anything about me and you go back and look at anything that I’ve ever said, I never say anything that I don’t do – ever,” White said. “I’ve never said (something I don’t do), and we’ve been kicking the whole boxing thing around for a long time. You’ve never heard me commit and say, ‘I’m in.’ I’m in.”

Aside from the UFC, White has been busy in recent years with different ventures. He has launched Dana White’s Contender Series, which offers regional MMA fighters the opportunity to earn a UFC contract, and a slap fighting league named Power Slap.

Wednesday, during a quarterly earnings call, TKO Group Holdings president and CEO Mark Shapiro shared his thoughts on White’s desire to jump into boxing.

“First of all, some off-the-cuff comments from Dana White do not translate into a strategy that we’re communicating to the street,” Shapiro said in a quote transcribed by MMA Fighting. “Dana says a lot of things and has a lot of passions and that’s why we love him. He’s also the best promoter the sport of MMA, and frankly if it was boxing, has or will ever see.

“What I can tell you is boxing at its best is confused and fragmented. At its worst, it’s broken. We think the sport presents an interesting growth opportunity for us. Dana White, and I should mention (WWE president) Nick Khan, have deep expertise and longstanding relationships in what they call the sweet science, otherwise known as boxing. If we were to get involved in boxing, we would expect to do so in an organic way, not (mergers and acquisitions) way. So, i.e., we’re not writing a check. If we launched the vertical at any time, we kind of see it as doing it with a partner that would fund it and pay us to operate.”

White has occasionally sported Zuffa Boxing t-shirts over the years. He is currently a backer of Walsh, a 12-0 boxer from Ireland, perhaps his most significant step toward the sport yet. The UFC boss admits that part of Walsh’s allure is his Irish background, which reminds him of the early days of Conor McGregor, who became a megastar in MMA.

Despite White getting behind a rising talent, the UFC owners do not appear ready to launch a boxing venture on their own. The group seems willing to explore potential partnership options, but according to Shapiro, it is not part of their immediate plans.

“Nothing to announce today, but this is one area we’re going to continue to explore,” Shapiro said. “We’ve talked about a dearth of leagues that are out there. Obviously, we’re acquiring (Professional Bull Riders), there’s not much else. We don’t necessarily need to add anything to our model, but boxing is ripe for a fix.

“We’re blessed to have two experts in the field, and if an opportunity presents itself or we can chase one down that does not put much risk or any risk for that matter on us financially, then we’re going to pursue it. In terms of models and leagues and how we’d structure it, etc., etc., that’s way down the road. Once we have something, if we have something, you’ll be the first to know.”

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Dana White goes full MAGA during Donald Trump victory speech, thanks ‘mighty and powerful Joe Rogan’

Unsurprisingly, UFC CEO Dana White reveled in Donald Trump’s election win as he addressed the crowd at Mar-a-Lago.

Despite his status as a political pariah four years ago, former President Donald Trump pulled off a decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris as he was elected to another term Wednesday.

Trump’s win is being hailed as one of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of American politics. He was considered an outcast in Washington after losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden – which he believed was stolen – before playing a part in thousands of his supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Influential in Trump’s 2024 victory was UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag], who has been among his biggest public supporters. Through the UFC, White gave Trump a platform to appeal to young, male voters, which played a big part in his re-election.

That was not lost on Trump, who invited White onstage to address his supporters Wednesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Fla. White took the opportunity to revel in his good friend’s win.

“Nobody deserves this more than him, and nobody deserves this more than his family does,” White said. “This is what happens when the machine comes after you. What you’ve seen over the last several years, this is what it looks like. Couldn’t stop him, he keeps going forward, he doesn’t quit, he’s the most resilient, hard-working man I’ve ever met in my life, his family are incredible people.

“This is karma, ladies and gentlemen. He deserves this. They deserve it as a family.”

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 06: Dana White is invited to speak at Donald Trump’s rally celebrating his 2024 election win. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Before stepping away from the podium, White followed up those words by thanking a list of influencers/podcasters who welcomed Trump as a guest on their shows during the campaign –  the Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Vonn, “Bussin’ with the Boys” (hosted by Will Compton and Taylor Lewan), and finally “the mighty and powerful [autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag].”

Trump spent 3 hours on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” the most popular podcast in the world hosted by the UFC commentator, on Oct. 25, less than two weeks before the election.

Video: Mark Cuban, Dana White verbally spar over Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump ahead of election

Less than a week until Election Day, Mark Cuban and Dana White argued over the records of presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

With Election Day less than one week away, all eyes and ears are on the political discourse happening in the U.S.

One debate that took place Wednesday night in front of a national television audience was between UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] and prominent businessman and television personality Mark Cuban.

The two men appeared on a News Nation town hall hosted by Chris Cuomo in front of a live studio audience. While guests Bill O’Reilly and Stephen A. Smith were featured in studio, White and Cuban joined the discussion via video call.

A staunch supporter of former U.S. president and current Republican nominee Donald Trump, White called into question the record of current vice president and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, and criticized the exit of President Joe Biden from the race.

Cuban rebutted White’s praise of Trump, mentioning the economy under his administration, the implementation of tariffs, and his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Watch the exchange between Cuban and White in the video above.

For more news and coverage on Election 2024, visit USA TODAY.

Midway through UFC 308 main event, Dana White lamented no BMF status for Topuria-Holloway

Once the fight was proving to be a true banger, Dana White wished the BMF title would have been on the line, too, at UFC 308.

ABU DHABI – When the idea first was proposed that [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] could challenge for [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]’s featherweight title, Topuria had what seemed to be a natural question.

Would Holloway’s new BMF belt be on the line, too? It stood to reason, Topuria argued, that it should.

The MMA world now knows that it wasn’t part of the deal this past Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, where Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), the UFC’s first champion from Spain, defended the featherweight belt with a stunner of a knockout in the third round. Former longtime champ Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) this never had been knocked out.

Making things slightly more dramatic was the fact Topuria said he’d be the first to do it to Holloway, then backed it up – not necessarily against all odds, but certainly against many of them.

The competitive nature if the fight before Holloway had his lights turned out made it seem, in retrospect, that it could’ve been a BMF title fight like the one Holloway was in when he finished Justin Gaethje with one second left. That bit of instant legend is what got Holloway the title shot.

Even UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag], after the fact, said it might have been good to have both belts contested.

“Topuria’s belt was on the line; Max was trying to take that,” White said after UFC 308 in explanation of why the promotion didn’t bring the BMF strap into the picture. “Halfway through the second round, I said, ‘Sh*t, we should have put the Bad Motherf*cker title up for this fight, too, because these guys are both (a BMF).'”

Holloway said after his loss that he’s likely to move to lightweight. That wouldn’t affect the BMF belt, though. It just may be a while before Holloway gets back on the horse, and when he does, it remains to be seen if it will be in the type of fight that would warrant the symbolic belt being up for grabs.

White was just as unsure what will happen with it.

“I don’t know what we’ll do with it yet, but Max still has it. Max holds the title, so we’ll see what happens,” he said.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

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