UFC president Dana White took the opportunity to fire back at his critics as he named and shamed a host of reporters in a video highlighting the UFC’s success in operating during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The video, which told the story of the UFC’s success through an unprecedented year, trumpeted White’s leadership as the UFC continued to move forward with events while the remainder of the sporting world was shutting down.
But while the video celebrated the UFC’s success, the main aim appeared to be to take aim at the media who, at the start of the COVID lockdown, questioned how the UFC could hold events safely during the middle of a pandemic.
Over and over, the video highlighted clipped quotes and highlighted names and faces of journalists who voiced their concerns, before White himself slammed the media for daring to question how the UFC could successfully operate under the circumstances.
“I’m not afraid of the media. Why should anybody listen to the media? Who are these people? What makes them experts? What have they ever accomplished?” he blasted.
“They criticize me for even trying to find a way forward because it’s easy to criticize from the sidelines when you risk nothing and do nothing. But we need to fight this thing. Step up. Instead of panicking, let’s find solutions.
“The media are not in the news business. They’re in the clickbait business. They think negativity sells and gets clicks so that’s what they deliver. Negativity is their product. But I’m not going to let that stop us. Any time there’s great success, it’s surrounded by negativity, but here’s the reality: none of the media people know anything about this business.”
White’s video and comments received a huge wave of support from fans online, with many also taking aim at the media in their replies, while some media members pushed back on the comments.
Guardian columnist Karim Zidan said White had “learned a lot from his buddy Donald Trump,” while MMA Junkie’s Dave Doyle pointed out: “Weird how Dana always skips the part where the UFC lost millions and millions for years until the scumbag media started covering their events and then things turned around.”
UFC President Dana White runs propaganda ad listing journalists, including myself, who rightfully questioned his decision to run events during early stage of the pandemic.Looks like he has learned a lot from his buddy Donald Trump https://t.co/3qG7Jn2CB5
Weird how Dana always skips the part where the UFC lost millions and millions for years until the scumbag media started covering their events and then things turned around.
Author and journalist Gyasi Ross took a different view, and said that White deserved credit for the UFC’s success, though he also stated the media’s role in asking questions of the UFC was equally valid.
“Salute Dana White for keeping people employed during the pandemic. Salute to Adam Silver for keeping people employed during the pandemic. Salute to journalists & doctors who raised reasonable questions about the wisdom of continuing. It‘s not either/or. These things can co-exist,” he tweeted.
Salute Dana White for keeping people employed during the pandemic. Salute to Adam Silver for keeping people employed during the pandemic. Salute to journalists & doctors who raised reasonable questions about the wisdom of continuing.It’s not either/or. These things can coexist. https://t.co/WL5dwblkUx
