All The Times Dana White Failed To Practice What He Preached

Darren - January 6, 2023

All The Times Dana White Failed To Practice What He Preached

Darren - January 6, 2023

Greg Hardy

White’s recent scandal isn’t the first time that domestic violence stained the UFC. Jon Jones was also involved in an unsavory incident but reached a plea deal. Arguably, the most contentious in recent years was when the promotion signed former NFL star Greg Hardy (via The Guardian).

Hardy became a persona non grata in football after a disgusting battery incident. But this didn’t stop the UFC from ‘giving him a second chance.’ White made no apology for the promotion’s decision and said he wasn’t playing games with the media. However, he proved that didn’t practice what he preached about women’s safety.

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Rachel Ostovich

UFC fans hated Greg Hardy and booed him every time he fought. But the promotion made one of the most despicable and tone-deaf decisions ever in 2019. They booked the woman beater on the same card as a domestic abuse survivor. White isn’t responsible for making fights but he influences all of the major decisions.

Rachel Ostovich suffered a broken orbital after her husband hit her during a home dispute. Later, she said that she had no issue with the booking. Nonetheless, the UFC shouldn’t have put her in that position. They also didn’t consider the wider impact on women who live with abusive partners (via ESPN).

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Powerslap League

White claims that the UFC is at the forefront of studying CTE and post-fight brain trauma. They pretend to care about the fighters but they exploit the for millions of dollars. His cold reaction to news of Spencer Fisher’s brain problems tells fans all they need to know (via Essentially Sports).

Then he outraged many fight fans by agreeing on a deal with the Slapfighting League. This competition sees opponents stand across from each other and exchange undefended blows. However, it appears that it fell apart after he slapped his wife on camera in Cabo. If it wasn’t horrific it would almost be ironic.

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Crypto.com

Let’s be fair and point out that White doesn’t make all of the decisions for the UFC. In recent years, Hunter Campbell plays a more important role in the business. But he is the face of the organization and can say what he believes. He shamelessly approved the removal of fighter sponsors from their uniforms.

Then they rubbed it in their faces by signing a deal with Crypto.com, a trading platform. Needless to say, the fighters didn’t receive a nickel from this new sponsor. This is shameful because every athlete should have the opportunity to flaunt at least one endorsement (via Forbes India).

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The McGregor Pass

Conor McGregor is the biggest superstar in MMA history. Nobody transcended the sport like him, for better or for worse. However, ‘The Notorious’ lives a colorful life outside of the cage. Now he spends more time breaking the law than fighting. McGregor committed assaults, destroyed personal property, and broke speed limits.

Nonetheless, the UFC refuses to sanction McGregor despite his rampant lawbreaking. That’s because he’s a major cash cow and they don’t want to upset him. Instead of making an example out of McGregor, White tolerates his baggage. He wouldn’t do this with another fighter because they wouldn’t have the upside (via The Mirror).

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‘Boring Fighter’

The UFC President says one thing when it suits him but will change his mind in a flash. He infamously had a terrible relationship with former Bellator champion, Ben Askren. The American didn’t join the UFC until late in his career because of his bad connection with the bald one. They even traded insults on social media.

But business is business and they overcame their differences with the help of Joe Rogan. Suddenly, White was raving about Askren because he saw the opportunity to make a lot of money. Askren achieved a lot of popularity quickly and attracted fans, so White changed his tune.

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Independent Contractors

We’ve referred to this a few times already but White loves reminding fans that UFC fighters are private contractors. In theory, this allows the promotion to bypass unions, pension schemes, and other common practices. This is the difference between the UFC and other sporting big leagues (via MMA Fighting).

However, the reality is that they didn’t practice what they preached. They force the fighters to hand over their image rights for video games and other merchandise. Meanwhile, the athletes don’t see a dime in compensation. They also don’t get to use their sponsors and have to wear UFC-branded apparel.

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No Humanity

Fedor Emelianenko is arguably the best fighter who never competed in the UFC. The Russian heavyweight king achieved an incredible mystique for his efforts outside of the promotion. He competed for PRIDE and Bellator amongst many others. But he blamed Dana White for his absence from the UFC and claims he didn’t practice what he preached.

He believed that White despises fighters despite his sugarcoated words (via Bleacher Report). “I just felt like ‘this guy, he just hates us,” ‘The Last Emperor’ said. “Like, personally too. Insults were coming from Dana White all the time. There were many very loud things said, but for real nothing happened.”

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Sex Tape Lawsuit

In 2020, White had an unsavory sex-tape lawsuit. He denied that he cheated on his life but what’s more important is that people believed it. A devious schemer blackmailed White after allegedly sleeping with a Brazilian dancer. If it’s true, he’s not being very respectful to his long-suffering wife.

White believes that family is very important or at least that’s what he says. The reality is that he doesn’t practice what he preaches. Many fighters accused White of having relationships with ring girls and female fighters including Ronda Rousey. These allegations may be untrue but they’re frequent (via The Sun).

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Jon Fitch’s Release

Nobody will pretend that Fitch is the most exciting fighter who ever lived. However, there’s no denying that he had an effective fighting style because he went on multiple long winning streaks. In the end, the UFC refused to re-sign him because he refused to give them his video game image rights.

It infuriated Fitch that he wouldn’t receive any remuneration. Dana White likes to say that fighters are independent contractors but he didn’t practice what he preached. He didn’t create the contract but he did rant in public about Fitch’s sense of entitlement (via MMA Fighting).

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Eskimo Brother

Former MMA referee and current Bellator commentator, ‘Big’ John McCarthy revealed one wild exchange between Brendan Schaub and Dana White. The latter pair were in a verbal dispute when Schaub allegedly said: “This isn’t how Eskimo brothers act.” This is slang for two men who have slept with the same woman.

McCarthy also told the Weighing-In Podcast that he knew what Schaub was referring to. This suggested that there was truth behind Schaub’s statement. The experienced ref said that this instantly silenced White and it didn’t refer to his wife. There’s no denying that he’s a seedy individual.

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Roided Fighters

The UFC partnered with USADA in 2015 as they sought to clean up the sport. They believed that this would help MMA enter the mainstream and achieve more respect. However, White didn’t practice what he preached. He knew about several occasions when fighters took steroids but didn’t act (via Clutchpoints).

Vitor Belfort infamously used PEDs before USADA’s introduction. He caused life-changing damage to several fighters but White didn’t intervene. However, the Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt scandal was even worse. White allegedly supported this short-notice match-up even though Lesnar was on more juice than a racehorse.

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The Wife Slap

This is easily the most contentious moment of Dana White’s public life so far. The media deserves a lot of criticism because many of them focused on his apology. ESPN also allegedly pressured its staff not to light the flames on Twitter. White hit his wife in public and destroyed his remaining credibility (via TMZ).

He once said that nobody can come back from hitting a woman. But he didn’t practice what he preached. Some people said that it was self-defense because she also hit him first after he grabbed her arm. However, no man should ever lay hands on a woman. This was too much for even some of his defenders to accept.

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All The Times Dana White Failed To Practice What He Preached