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It’s no exaggeration to suggest that if UFC president Dana White had his way, some of the UFC’s champions would have gotten nowhere near the titles they eventually won.
UFC president Dana White can’t choose his champions. However, if he could, he’d have looked for fighters with loyalty to the promotion, exciting fighting styles and a willingness to fight anyone at any time.
UFC champions like Tyron Woodley, Francis Ngannou and Demetrious Johnson would certainly not have been Dana White’s first choice. However, if the UFC president could have picked his titleholders, who would he have gone for?
Here are five current UFC fighters whom Dana White would love to crown as champions.
#5. Khamzat Chimaev – UFC welterweight champion
It’s probably fair to say that UFC president Dana White doesn’t mind having Kamaru Usman as his welterweight champion.
After all, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has been highly active since winning the title from Tyron Woodley in 2019, making four successful defenses. He has even become a more exciting fighter in the process, dishing out three knockout finishes in his last four bouts.
He hasn’t even proven to be tricky to work with as such. That's because he has largely accepted fights with Gilbert Burns, Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington with no real issues. However, if White had his way, the UFC’s welterweight champion would probably be Khamzat Chimaev.
‘Borz’ burst into the UFC with three violent wins in quick succession in 2020, immediately making himself a star with fans in the process. Prior to an unfortunate case of COVID-19, the Chechnya native was seemingly willing to fight any opponent on basically zero notice to advance his UFC career.
White has been desperate to find the next Russian-based star since the retirement of UFC lightweight kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2020. So it’s easy to see why he’d love to crown Chimaev as his next welterweight champion.
Could Chimaev defeat Usman? That remains to be seen, but as long as White is at the helm of the UFC, it’s highly likely ‘Borz’ will be given his chance at some point in the future.
#4. Derrick Lewis – UFC heavyweight champion
On the face of it, Francis Ngannou should be the ideal UFC heavyweight champion. He carries himself like a superstar, looks like the baddest man on the planet, and dishes out brutal knockouts like few other fighters.
However, since winning his title from Stipe Miocic earlier this year, he has caused Dana White nothing but trouble. From refusals to fight on certain dates, to heading to social media to demand more money from the UFC, it’s safe to say that ‘The Predator’ is no longer in White’s good books.
So who would be the UFC president’s ideal heavyweight champion? We should probably look no further than Derrick Lewis. Lewis is an entertaining knockout artist in his own right, holding the record for the most knockouts in UFC heavyweight history. He’s also a highly entertaining fighter to watch.
More to the point, ‘The Black Beast’ is also a highly entertaining character, as his comical interviews have endeared him to UFC fans. He’s also loved by the UFC’s brass, thanks to his willingness to fight any opponent without complaining, usually without mentioning his salary, too.
Dana White did attempt to crown Lewis as his heavyweight champion earlier this year, only for him to fall to Ciryl Gane. However, there’s every chance ‘The Black Beast’ might be given another opportunity in the future.
#3. Kevin Holland – UFC middleweight champion
Israel Adesanya is undoubtedly one of the UFC’s most entertaining and popular champions right now. The UFC middleweight kingpin has never stepped out of the promotion’s good books, either.
However, if Adesanya were not in the picture, the fighter Dana White would probably most like to crown as his 185lb champion would be Kevin Holland. ‘The Trailblazer’ fought at a rate largely unheard of in 2020, making five appearances in the octagon, often on late notice. Holland didn’t care who his opponent was, and reeled off an incredible five straight wins in the process.
That run put him in line for some big fights in 2021. Although he fell against both Marvin Vettori and Derek Brunson, it’s highly likely Holland will be pushed up the card again in the near future.
One thing almost certainly helping the cause of ‘The Trailblazer’ is his attitude towards the UFC and its pay structure. While other fighters have often criticized it, Holland recently defended his pay to the hilt. He suggested that fighters simply need to take a leaf out of his book and fight more often in order to earn more.
That kind of statement would definitely be music to the ears of Dana White, making ‘The Trailblazer’ the UFC president’s ideal middleweight champion.
#2. Israel Adesanya – UFC light-heavyweight champion
Israel Adesanya is the UFC’s current middleweight champion, but if Dana White had his way, would ‘The Last Stylebender’ be holding two titles right now? You bet.
After defeating top contenders, Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa, in 2020, Adesanya was granted a shot at UFC light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. That gave Adesanya a chance to make history.
Of course, ‘The Last Stylebender’ came up slightly short in the clash, falling to defeat against ‘The Prince of Cieszyn’ via unanimous decision.
White appeared not to mind the result, particularly as Adesanya immediately moved back down to 185lbs without skipping a beat and beat Marvin Vettori to make his third title defense.
However, would the UFC President have preferred Adesanya to dethrone Blachowicz? It seems highly likely. It’s not like Blachowicz is a bad champion at all. In fact, the Polish fighter is usually exciting to watch, and has been reeling off brutal knockouts in the last few years.
Unfortunately, he just isn’t as marketable as ‘The Last Stylebender’. Had Adesanya dethroned him to claim his second title, the likelihood is that Blachowicz would have been more than willing to defend both, something that would’ve pleased White even further.
Essentially, Israel Adesanya is the ideal champion for the UFC. and Dana White likely would’ve loved him to claim two titles rather than just holding one.
#1. Conor McGregor – UFC lightweight champion
It’s no secret that Dana White adores Conor McGregor. On numerous occasions, the UFC president has labelled the Irishman his favorite performer to watch. It’s hard to deny that ‘The Notorious’ often receives special treatment from the promotion as well.
McGregor certainly isn’t easy to work with, though. The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion has threatened to walk away from MMA altogether on numerous occasions. He has had public spats with the promotion, and he even announced his retirement more than once.
However, no other fighter draws quite so much money as ‘The Notorious’. That means even if the UFC have to pay him more than anyone else, whenever he fights, both sides win big from a financial perspective.
If McGregor were to recapture the UFC lightweight title, Dana White would likely be absolutely ecstatic. Even if it meant that his promotion would have to renegotiate McGregor's contract between each fight, the amount of money than a title reign for the Irishman would bring in would be mind-boggling.
It is a pretty well-known fact that White’s biggest concern when it comes to the UFC is the promotion’s bottom line. Therefore, crowning Conor McGregor as one of his champions would definitely be an ideal scenario for him.
