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Dana White explained why he had extra security on stage during the UFC 272 press conference last night.
In one of the most bizarre broadcasts in the promotion's history, Thursday evening saw the UFC 272 press conference go down between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington. The two men went back and forth for 30 minutes, and throughout the whole thing, the UFC president was there watching it all unfold.
White was also joined by a selection of police officers as well as extra members of security. This wouldn't have come as much of a surprise given the hatred between the two men who will headline the pay-per-view this weekend.
When asked about why he made that decision, White had the following response:
“Well if anybody doesn’t think that one of these two might do something today, you’re out of your f****** mind. That’s why we have everybody up here, and yeah, this is real.”
Watch the UFC 272 pre-fight press conference below:
There continues to be a lot of speculation surrounding the legitimacy of this 'beef' and whether or not the two men hate each other for real. However, if White is to be believed, they won't be shaking hands once it's all said and done on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Dana White questions Colby Covington moving to 185
While Colby Covington may well be one of the best welterweights on the planet, he's still 0-2 against reigning champion Kamaru Usman. So when Dana White heard about him wanting to move up to middleweight to take on Israel Adesanya, he was quick to dismiss the idea.
During a recent interview with Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole, the UFC president noted that if Covington wants a shot at Adesanya, he needs to beat a top contender like Robert Whittaker first. Even if 'Chaos' manages that, the size difference between him and 'The Last Stylebender' may be too much to overcome. White said:
"You think he should be able to jump a weight class up to take on that champion when he didn’t beat the champion twice in his own weight class?”
Dana White hasn't been afraid to make champion vs. champion fights or promote the idea of a weight class change being good for someone. However, he doesn't appear to believe that Covington has done enough to earn an immediate title shot, especially in a new division.
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