Dana White has taken a shot at UFC rival promotions after attending an influencer event hosted by internet sensation Adin Ross.
The UFC has forever been the premier promotion in mixed martial arts despite constant attempts from the likes of Bellator and the PFL to try and take the top spot.
One of the main drivers of the UFC’s success is Dana White, who has long been the best promoter in MMA, consistently putting together some of the biggest fights and events in the sport.
Something that is becoming hugely popular in combat sports, though, is influencer-backed events, which sometimes include appearances from former UFC stars, like Darren Till.
Dana White takes swipe at UFC rival promotions
This past Friday, just a day before the huge UFC 314 event in Miami, White attended an influencer combat sports event hosted by his friend and internet sensation, Adin Ross.
White has always been a good friend to Ross, even once bailing him out with a $630,000 gift after the streamer lost a substantial amount of money at a casino in Vegas.
Ross somehow managed to get White and his right-hand man, Hunter Campbell, on commentary for the majority of the fights, in which White even picked up $10,000 after seeing an ‘Island Boy’ get KO’d.
During the commentary, White took a swipe at UFC rival promotions, comparing them to influencer events run by the likes of Ross and co.
“Listen, you’ve put on a show, the place is packed, people are here hanging, you’ve got half a million people on stream (watching), you’ve got Drake hitting you up about it, I think you’re doing okay,” White told Ross during the event.
“That’s more than every other one of our f—— competitors got going on, I can tell you that right now. If you look at any of our competitors that try to compete against us, you’ve got more s— going on here than they do,” White continued.
“That’s a factual statement, actually. You gave more viewers than I think anybody that’s competing with the UFC does right now,” Hunter Campbell added.
White’s comments come days after GFL event cancelations
The UFC boss’ comments come just days after new MMA promotion, GFL, announced they are canceling their two debut events that were originally scheduled for May.
The promotion signed several former UFC fighters, including Tony Ferguson, Fabricio Werdum, and Paige VanZant, and have caused controversy in the MMA world.
There are now concerns that the promotion will never take off as investors seemingly continue to withdraw from the project, leaving their future in doubt.
