"Bro has been bought" - Fans troll Dana White for promoting Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois amid Saudi Arabia ties

Dana White's promotion of the upcoming Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois heavyweight boxing match has not gone unnoticed. The UFC CEO took to Instagram with a short clip of himself encouraging fans to tune in to the bout, which is scheduled for this Saturday.

The event itself is organized by Matchroom Boxing, which is helmed by Eddie Hearn, a rival promoter. However, due to the part played by Turki Alalshikh, a Saudi minister who has taken a deep interest in boxing and is also working with the UFC, it seems that White was strongarmed into promoting the fight.

Check out Dana White promoting Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois:

Naturally, given how averse White has always been about praising other promotions, especially rivals, it has come as a shock to the MMA fandom. Popular MMA YouTuber, the MMA Guru, took to X with the aforementioned clip of White, drawing a wave of reactions from fans.

One fan speculated that the money thrown White's way proved too great for him to turn down Alalshikh's wishes.

"For Dana to do this is like the equivalent of a straight guy doing 360s on that sh*t. Bro has been bought"

Others, meanwhile, speculated that a crossover event between the UFC and boxing is fast approaching, despite White's historic refusal to co-promote.

"We are getting closer to a mixed UFC/boxing event"

Some though, claimed that the UFC is no longer as profitable as it once was with its current crop of wrestling-heavy champions, thus necessitating White's need to placate Alalshikh.

"UFC would obviously be broke with champions like Merab Belal Pantoja Pennington Valentina..They can't sell a fight"

Others poked fun at Hearn's combativeness.

"Eddie Hearn going broke or jumping off a mountain before doing this lmfaoooo"

A collage of fan reactions can be seen below:

Fan reactions to Dana White promoting Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois

The collaboration between the UFC and Riyadh Season took center stage this past weekend, with Noche UFC 306 officially branded as Riyadh Season Noche UFC.

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Dana White is also promoting another boxing match

Dana White is a longtime fan of boxing, but it will still likely surprise the MMA fandom that he's promoting not one, but two boxing matches this week. Callum Walsh, who the UFC CEO favors, is set to defend his WBC Continental Americas super welterweight title against Przemysław Runowski tomorrow on Friday.

Check out Dana White promoting Callum Walsh vs. Przemysław Runowski:

The fight will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass, and White has been promoting it on social media, even using its official poster as his profile banner.