So, it appears that going out of his way to lie to the media is becoming Dana White’s new thing.
When asked by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto about Brock Lesnar possibly returning at UFC 200, prior to the news becoming wide-spread when Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com broke the actual story, White flat out said it wasn’t going to happen.
Of course, everyone knows how that all turned out. Not only was Helwani’s report proved to be as accurate as a news article can be, but he would go on to get kicked out of the UFC 199 pay-per-view and banned from the UFC, only to be given his credential back following a sizable public showing of support, particularly from the sports media.
On Thursday, it was deja vu all over again.
Coincidentally enough, after Globo broke the news that MMA legend and former UFC 185-pound champion Anderson Silva offered his services for UFC 200, claiming to be willing to fight the champion of the 205 pound division on two days notice, it was ESPN’s Okamoto who White gave the “exclusive scoop” to.
Of course, that “scoop” was a quick one-line comment White made that just pointed out that Globo “got it wrong.”
As it turns out, they weren’t that wrong at all.
Much like the scenario that played out when White outright lied about Lesnar’s MMA status, it was once again Helwani who essentially “broke” or “confirmed” the story before the UFC themselves, as he published an article at MMA Fighting late Thursday evening to inform fans that Anderson Silva vs. Daniel Cormier is, in fact, set for this Saturday’s landmark UFC 200 pay-per-view.
According to Helwani’s report, the Silva vs. Cormier bout will take place in the 205 pound division, however it will be a three round, non-title fight.
Headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt, UFC 200 takes place this Saturday, July 9, 2016 from the brand new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Join us here at MMANews.com on Saturday for live coverage of the UFC 200 PPV.