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Chael Sonnen believes that not all of the criticism that Dana White receives regarding the issue of fighter pay is warranted.
'The American Gangster' recently uploaded a video to his YouTube channel where he commented on UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya's new deal with the promotion. In the video, Sonnen suggested White has been a victim of the expression, 'No good deed goes unpunished'.
One example Sonnen gave of the UFC president's generosity was the bonuses awarded to fighters after every event. He then argued that the MMA media tried to give White's decision to give bonuses a derogatory turn.
"Dana White started giving guys bonuses outside of what their contract called for. When he started doing this, they should've put him on the cover of TIME magazine, they should have nominated him for awards... Our own media tried to make it back-handed [by calling them locker-room bonuses]... Our own media was trying to label and tried to make it derogatory."
Sonnen then claimed that Francis Ngannou is going to be paid much more for UFC 270 than the $600,000 amount reported by the California State Athletic Commission. He says that's due to White's generosity.
"He's [Francis Ngannou] going to make a million dollars, back-end money, plus the $600,000 that was disclosed, plus Reebok money... He's going to do all of those things on a fight that he didn't promote... This is a gift being given by a very generous guy [Dana White]... Elon Musk will never do this and never has, Bill Gates will not do this and never has, Tim Cook will not do it and never has, Steve Jobs will not do it and never has. it's the single most generous thing that I personally have been able to witness."
Watch Chael Sonnen's full video below:
Eddie Hearn showers praise on Dana White
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn recently made an appearance on Ariel Helwani's show, The MMA Hour. During the interaction, he praised Dana White for building the UFC into a giant brand.
Hearn called White an "icon" in the world of fight promotion. The Matchroom Boxing kingpin also revealed that he tells his team to keep a close eye on the workings of the UFC in order to learn a thing or two.
Hearn also praised the quality of the product that the multi-billion dollar promotion puts out, including streams, press conferences and overall branding. He said he's aiming for the same level of success in boxing as White has achieved with the UFC.
Catch a snippet of Eddie Hearn's interview with Ariel Helwani below:
