The UFC is set to return to action at UFC 324 on January 24th and as the company gears up to promote their debut with Paramount CBS they have sent their biggest advocate, Dana White, out on a media blitz. The only problem? White doesn’t seem all that tuned into what he’s selling these days.
Those of us who have been around the sport for the last two decades remember how passionate Dana White used to get talking about upcoming main events. That just doesn’t seem to light up his brain any more, unsurprising
considering he spends his free time throwing down $20,000 plays on blackjack and baccarat tables. The last time we saw Dana’s head turn red as he pumped a fight was McGregor vs. Mayweather in 2017. Nowadays he gets about as deep into the UFC talk as you do with your nephews over Christmas dinner.
Others have been noticing his lack of promotional engagement as well, like Ariel Helwani, who commented on it during his latest show.
“I just couldn’t believe how disconnected and how disinterested he seemed in the product,” Helwani said. “He seemed so disinterested in the product that I couldn’t believe he’s on CBS Mornings, and it’s a very fluff interview, it’s as mainstream as it gets. It’s their equivalent of Good Morning America. And he says that Amanda Nunes versus Kayla Harrison is the greatest female fight of all time.”
“He’s actually asked … ‘Why is it the greatest female fight of all time?’ And he just goes, ‘Well Kayla, she’s a medalist,’ — doesn’t remember that she’s a gold medalist, doesn’t even remember that she’s a two-time Olympic gold medalist and she won gold in another organization and she won in the UFC — ‘And she’s fighting Amanda Nunes, who’s the GOAT. So it’s the greatest female fight of all time.'”
“Doesn’t tell you about Olympic gold,” Helwani continued. “Doesn’t tell you that they’re former teammates. Doesn’t tell you that Amanda retired and is coming back and wants to fight [more], none of that stuff. It’s all so easy to sell this. It is so easy to sell this.”
Later in the show, Helwani commented on the awkward UFC Golden Globes appearance and noted it didn’t matter in the bigger picture because stuff like that doesn’t draw people to the sport.
“Ultimately, what will always sell fights are rivalries, stories,” he said. “Not even title fights. Rivalries. That’s what sells. This guy doesn’t like this guy. This girl doesn’t like this girl. That’s why I talk about Dana White not selling Amanda Nunes and and Kayla Harrison, doing the easy thing, ‘This is the greatest fight of all time,’ which might resonate with some people.”
“When you have a story like, ‘This girl is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and then she moved to MMA and then she went to this gym and this other girl was seeing her and said, I’m out of here. And then she retired and then she came back when [the first girl] won the belt.’ Like, there’s a story to be told here. Oh, wow. What happened? Their one training session that lasted a round and a half, all that stuff.”
“That stuff matters. That stuff resonates. This [Golden Globes] stuff doesn’t. So we kinda laugh at it.”
