Dana White didn’t hold back in his criticism of the coach’s challenge that aired on the most recent episode of The Ultimate Fighter.
Typically, every season of TUF features a challenge that puts the coaches at the forefront in a one-on-one battle of skill. This year, opposing coaches Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler competed in a trivia challenge, but with one big caveat; both would be submerged in an ice bath while answering questions. In the end, McGregor won with a score of 16-14, but the biggest issue was the fact that both men were kept on ice for nearly 30 minutes.
Dana White was less than enthused by the dangerous challenge and went hard at the show’s producers during an interview with TheMACLife.
“I’m gonna tell you this. It was a huge, huge f*cking … clusterf*ck by the production team that shot this thing,” White said. “Completely f*cking irresponsible, completely a sh*t show, and both of them could have been hurt during this. It was a f*cking ridiculous what happened during the coach’s challenge.”
Dana White Doubles Down on His Criticism
According to Jennifer Solomon, M.D. of the Women’s Sports Medicine Center at Hospital for Special Surgery, an individual should not be submerged in an ice bath for more than 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, the blood vessels constrict and the body experiences decreased circulation, significantly increasing the probability of frostbite and hypothermia.
“I did 37 degrees (Fahrenheit) in New York for seven minutes,” White added. “We did two days at six minutes, we did the last day at seven minutes. These guys did this thing for almost 30 minutes. Dangerous, stupid, irresponsible, and just completely f*cking ridiculous on the part of the production crew that handled the coach’s challenge.”