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Put simply, UFC president Dana White is one of the most controversial and divisive figures in MMA history. Right now, is he doing his promotion more harm than good?
Whether Dana White is good or bad for the UFC is definitely a fair question, and there are arguments for both sides of the debate.
While White is unlikely to change for anyone – particularly his detractors – it’s fair to say that after more than two decades at the helm of the UFC, it feels like controversy will always swirl around him.
Here are three reasons why Dana White is currently harming the UFC – and two reasons why he remains good for the promotion.
#3. Dana White appears to favor certain fighters over others
In essence, the UFC ought to be run as a meritocracy, with the best fighters rising to the top and competing for the promotion’s titles.
For the most part, this is indeed the case. Right now, nobody could argue that Alexander Volkanovski, for instance, isn’t the best 145lber on the planet. The same could be said for Leon Edwards at 170 pounds, Islam Makhachev at 155 pounds, and so on.
However, it’s safe to say that, at times, Dana White in particular seems determined to make life easier for some fighters and not for others.
Colby Covington, for instance, looks set to be handed a welterweight title shot later this year despite not competing since early 2022, while Belal Muhammad, who is on a lengthy win streak, seems set to be passed over.
The same could be said for Stipe Miocic at heavyweight. It looks like Miocic – who, admittedly, is regarded as the best heavyweight in UFC history – is going to get the first shot at Jon Jones despite not fighting since his 2021 loss to Francis Ngannou.
White’s differing treatment of fighters isn’t just reserved for his headliners, though. Most of the time, all it takes for a lower-card fighter to be released from the UFC is a short losing streak, often just two fights.
Sam Alvey, however, was allowed to go on a winless run of nine bouts over the course of four years before he was finally let go in 2022.
Essentially, there’s nothing wrong with White having favorite fighters, but for him to seemingly favor them over their peers is more than a little unfair – and can often harm his promotion.
#2. Dana White still gets into pointless spats with his fighters
As a promoter, it’s obviously Dana White’s job to try to ensure that the fighters of the UFC become stars in the eyes of the fans. After all, creating stars is what allows the UFC to make money year upon year.
However, at times, White seems more than happy to get into largely pointless spats with his fighters. In turn, this can damage their reputation in the eyes of the fans.
One of White’s favorite tactics, particularly when the UFC is trying – and failing – to put a certain fight together, is to claim that one of his athletes “doesn’t want to fight.”
Jon Jones, for instance, was accused of this on multiple times during his hiatus between 2020 and 2022. In reality, ‘Bones’ was sitting out as part of a financial dispute with the promotion.
Other fighters to face such accusations have included Jorge Masvidal, Dustin Poirier and Robert Whittaker, all of whom were quick to take to social media and deny White’s claims.
At times, White has also been quick to slam the performances of his fighters in the octagon, even when it would be better to defend them against the criticism of the fans.
Late 2022, for instance, saw him describe the light heavyweight title bout between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev as “terrible.” Was the fight a good one to watch? Admittedly, no, but White’s criticism of the fighters will only affect their drawing ability in the future – meaning it makes no sense at all.
Overall, Dana White often acts more like a fan than the UFC’s President, and while that is endearing at times, it also doesn’t help the promotion in other ways.
#1. Dana White’s push of Power Slap is putting a stain on the UFC
Despite the myriad of differences between them, MMA, boxing and pro-wrestling are often considered close cousins. Obviously the first two are combat sports, while the third essentially masquerades as one.
Slap fighting, however, is about as far away from a true combat sport as it gets. Both MMA and boxing are, at heart, based around the offense that a fighter can put together. However, both sports also require fighters to have tremendous defenses to thrive.
That isn’t the case for slap fighting, which involves no defense whatsoever. Essentially, it involves contestants taking unanswered shots to the head, with the matches often ending in knockouts.
However, while both MMA fighters and fans have decried the idea of slap fighting, right now, UFC fans can’t escape it. More specifically, they can’t avoid Dana White’s Power Slap League.
That’s because it’s been plastered all over the UFC’s social media feeds – from their Instagram and Twitter pages right down to their Fight Pass streaming service – for months now.
White evidently believes that Power Slap can break into the mainstream, even labeling it the “next big thing” in combat sports. For him to promote it is his prerogative, but should he be using the UFC’s platform to do so? The honest answer is probably not.
Former UFC title challenger Dan Hardy has even spoken out against this in recent weeks, stating that White has been “ramming Power Slap” down the throats of the fans, and that he’s had to unfollow the UFC’s social media sources because of this.
Due to Power Slap’s controversial nature, it’s probably fair to say that Dana White’s use of the UFC’s platform to promote it is highly egregious – and is doing more harm than good to the promotion.
Despite this, there are clear-cut arguments for why Dana White is still good for the UFC. Here are two of them.
#2. Dana White is still a better figurehead for the UFC than a generic suit
One pipe dream that seemed to be doing the rounds amongst online UFC fans a few years back was the idea that Dana White could be replaced as UFC president by a more amicable figure.
Former middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen was one name bandied around after White suggested he had the potential to replace him at some point, although Sonnen’s issues outside the octagon quickly soured that idea.
Brian Stann, a former US marine and middleweight title contender, was also named. Others have suggested former middleweight champ Rich Franklin, who currently works as Vice President for ONE Championship.
However, the truth is that if the UFC’s parent company Endeavor ever replaced White, it’s likely that the promotion’s new president would be a generic corporate suit rather than someone with an MMA background.
That’d be concerning for the sport as a whole. While White can be abrasive, brash and outright offensive at times, he at least seems to understand the fight game.
In particular, White has always suggested that he wants to avoid the UFC from becoming anything like boxing – something that fans of combat sports would probably agree with.
Moreover, White is never afraid to tell things like they are in a blunt fashion. While he might prefer suits to hoodies and jeans these days, it’s unlikely that fans will ever hear stereotypical corporate-speak from him.
Essentially, MMA remains a somewhat unique activity that doesn’t quite fit into the mould of other mainstream sports – and White, who is nothing like the figureheads in other sports, still represents the UFC well enough.
#1. Dana White clearly still loves the sport of MMA
While Dana White is not afraid to throw his fighters under the bus, often to the detriment of the UFC, listening to him talk always gives a stark reminder that first and foremost, he’s an MMA fan.
The UFC president’s enthusiasm for fighting knows no bounds. It’s easy to see this from his press conferences, as well as his web series Lookin' for a Fight and, of course, Dana White’s Contender Series.
In reality, for all the criticism White gets for hitting out at his fighters, he tends to wax lyrical about them far more than he puts them down.
The enthusiasm he showed for Jon Jones following his recent win over Ciryl Gane, for instance, was almost infectious. White labeled Jones “unbelievable” and described dealing with him as “like dealing with an artist.”
Naysayers may put this down to White simply being a promoter and putting his best fighters over in the press. However, a flash of his true love for fighting shone through when he recently discussed former middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s entry into the UFC Hall of Fame.
‘The Spider’ has not fought for the promotion since 2020, and given his last bout saw him lose to YouTuber Jake Paul – a nemesis of White’s – it probably would’ve been easy for the UFC president to simply brush over his upcoming induction.
Instead, White was effusive in his praise for the Brazilian, labeling Silva “one of the greatest athletes of all time” and stating that it’d be an honor to induct him into the Hall of Fame.
Add in the fact that he’s clearly still excited to watch the top fights produced by the UFC, and White can be considered very different to most promoters and even executives in other sports. In this instance, that’s a good thing.
