Francis Ngannou left the UFC as a free agent in January – after UFC stripped him of the heavyweight title | Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
Dana White’s claims that the UFC made the now-former heavyweight…
Francis Ngannou left the UFC as a free agent in January – after UFC stripped him of the heavyweight title | Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
Dana White’s claims that the UFC made the now-former heavyweight champ a record breaking offer seem like they lacked some important context.
Before he redlined the bus so he could throw the man under it, UFC president Dana White told assembled media at UFC Vegas 67 that the promotion had parted ways with heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. In the process, White announced that the ‘Predator’ had turned down “a deal that would’ve made him the highest-paid heavyweight in the history of the company—more than (Brock) Lesnar, more than anybody.”
White didn’t follow that statement with any details. Facts, figures, numbers, terms or guarantees were all missing. It was enough for people just to know that it was a big deal. The media—knowing their role in a situation like this—transcribed and reported White’s incredulous bafflement that Ngannou would have the audacity to turn down such an offer, and didn’t bother to ask what the amount was or point out that Lesnar hadn’t fought for the UFC since 2016 or held the UFC title since 2010.
One person who did not miss that White’s statement was soft on details was Ngannou’s coach, Eric Nicksick. Speaking to John Eric Poli of MyMMANews, Nicksick filled in some of the particulars that White left out.
“He (Ngannou) was like, man, if I lose this fight, I lose all my protection,” said Nicksick. “The number was drastically dropped. Yes, he was gonna get paid great money to fight Jon Jones but the next question was, what happens if you were to lose? Then it’s like he’s back down at the bottom again, you know the number was, I think for him, the number that they gave just didn’t seem fair, it didn’t make any sense. Basically, he was gonna get paid a little bit more than Alistair Overeem was being paid… If you were to lose to Jon Jones you’re dropping pay was quite exponential, so it didn’t make any sense for him.”
The last disclosed payout for Overeem was the $400,000 he made at UFC on ESPN 8. Overeem defeated Walt Harris by knockout in that main event contest. Overeem fought twice after beating Harris. He went 1-1 in those fights, both main event outings. Both of those fights occurred in Nevada, which ceased disclosing fighter pay as of July 2020.
Because many athletic commissions do not disclose fighter pay, there’s a limited number of former champions to look at to back Nicksick’s claim, but the available numbers support what he had to say.
Tyron Woodley was paid $500,000 for his UFC welterweight title fight at UFC 253. He lost that contest to Kamaru Usman. In his next outing, a non-title fight main event against Gilbert Burns, Woodley earned $200,000 in a loss.
Junior dos Santos lost the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 155. His disclosed pay that night was $400,000. Dos Santos’ next fight was a non-title, co-main event matchup against Mark Hunt. ‘Cigano’ won that fight, earning $240,000 in total. Just $120,000 of that was ‘show money,’ the other $120,000 was conditional on his victory. Had he lost that fight, JDS would have made a disclosed $120,000.
Luke Rockhold took home $250,000 when he lost his UFC middleweight title to Michael Bisping at UFC 199. Rockhold’s next disclosed payout didn’t come until he lost to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239. He had gone 1-1 between the Bisping fight and the Blachowicz matchup, and made a disclosed $200,000 at UFC 239.
The final, relatively recent example that I could find came at UFC 201, where Robbie Lawler lost his welterweight title. ‘Ruthless’ earned a purse of $500,000 for that fight against Tyron Woodley. His next bout, a non-title fight and non-main event win over Donald Cerrone, saw Lawler net a disclosed $300,000 ($200,000/$100,000 in show/win money).
All of this is to say that White’s proclamation that Ngannou would have been “the highest-paid heavyweight in the history of the company” likely felt a lot less like a ground-breaking offer to Ngannou than the UFC president made it sound. Especially given that the heavyweight title has been the most difficult to defend belt in the promotion’s history.
Competitors face off in an event hosted by the Arnold Sports Festival in 2022. | Photo by Gaelen Morse/Getty Images
Doctor said of competitive slapping that the ‘force applied to the face is the same force when one punch…
Competitors face off in an event hosted by the Arnold Sports Festival in 2022. | Photo by Gaelen Morse/Getty Images
Doctor said of competitive slapping that the ‘force applied to the face is the same force when one punches a face.’
Since UFC president Dana White announced he was stepping into the world of slap fighting, there have been questions about the safety of a “sport” that removes any suggestion of defense. Now, with the first Power Slap League episode in the rear-view mirror, those questions are turning into statements about just how unsafe this new combat sports spectacle seems to be.
Christopher Nowinski, a former Harvard football player-turned WWE wrestler—and one of the co-founders of the Concussion Legacy Foundation—wrote on Twitter of a Power Slap participant being knocked out, “This is so sad. Note the fencing posture with the first brain injury. He may never be the same. @danawhite & @TBSNetwork should be ashamed. Pure exploitation. What’s next, “Who can survive a stabbing”?”
This is so sad. Note the fencing posture with the first brain injury. He may never be the same. @danawhite & @TBSNetwork should be ashamed. Pure exploitation. What’s next, “Who can survive a stabbing”? pic.twitter.com/jTENpUmJDd
Nowinski holds a doctorate in Behavioral Neuroscience from Boston University School of Medicine and serves on the NFL Players Association Mackey-White Health & Safety Committee, the Ivy League Concussion Committee, the Positive Coaching Alliance National Advisory Board, and as an advisor to All-Elite Wrestling.
According to the rules of Power Slap, “Flinching, blocking, or delaying the match are considered fouls.” Or, to put it more succinctly, defense is not allowed.
Nikos Evangelou, a clinical associate professor of neurology at Nottingham University Hospital and a consultant neurologist, told Sky News, “The force applied to the face is the same force when one punches a face. The head/brain receives a blow and the brain is concussed causing hopefully a temporary, but sometimes permanent, disruption to brain function.
“Sadly because of the potential twisting movement of the head there could be even more serious complications.”
Evangelou called slap fighting, “a recipe for disaster.”
Even in the sport’s very short history, there has already been a death related to slap fighting.
On October 22, 2021 46-year-old slap fighter, Artur “Walu?” Walczak, fell to the ground after being knocked out. Walczak was knocked down four times during the event and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Walczak was taken to the hospital, where he was placed in a medically induced coma. He never regained consciousness, passing away due to multi-organ failure in November of that year.
The first episode of what is expected to be an eight-week run of Power Slap did not fare well in the ratings. The show was delayed a week after Dana White was caught on tape slapping his wife, Anne, while on a family vacation in Mexico. It’s debut episode failed to keep a strong lead-in audience from AEW Wrestling to finish with a reported 295,000 viewers and a 0.10 share in the 18-49 demographic.
For now, TBS and White appear to still be full steam ahead on promoting this latest business venture. Hopefully those plans don’t result in the kind of long term harm that seem so likely from repeated, unprotected blows to the head.
A running tally of important stats for all UFC events in 2023 – UFC 283 edition | Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
A running tally of important stats for all UFC events in 2023. The UFC is now two events…
A running tally of important stats for all UFC events in 2023 – UFC 283 edition | Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
A running tally of important stats for all UFC events in 2023.
The UFC is now two events into 2023. For this coming year, our plan is to do an event-by-event look back after every card, along with keeping a running total of pertinent UFC statistics on the year. Below is the post-UFC 283 update for data in 2023.
So far we’ve had 26 fights, with ten bouts going to decision and sixteen finishing inside the distance. That includes two rear naked chokes, a doctor’s stoppage, and two body shot KOs. Light Heavyweight and bantamweight have seen the most bouts so far in 2023, and we’re already running up toward 3,000 significant strikes landed.
Take a look at all the numbers we’ll be keeping track of as the year goes on.
Shortest Three-Round Fight: Gabriel Bonfim submits Mounir Lazzez at 0:49 of Round 1 at UFC 283.
Latest Finish in a Three-Round Fight: Dan Ige knock out Damon Jackson at 4:13 of Round 2 at UFC Vegas 67.
Most Takedowns Landed: Thiago Moises lands four of seven attempts on Melquizael Costa at UFC 283 and Dan Argueta sticks four on six attempts vs. Nick Aguirre at UFC Vegas 67.
Most Submission Attempts: Deiveson Figueiredo two submission attempts vs. Brendan Moreno at UFC 283 and Dan Argueta two submission attempts vs. Nick Aguirre at UFC Vegas 67.
Most Knockdowns Landed: Eight fighters with one knockdown apiece (Five at UFC 283 and three at UFC Vegas 67.)
Most Significant Strikes Landed in a Three-Round Fight: Jessica Andrade lands 231 of 369 significant strike attempts in unanimous decision win over Lauren Murphy.
Jamahal Hill lands 232 significant strikes in a UFC light heavyweight fight for a new UFC LHW single-fight record. Hill defeated Glover Teixeira to by unanimous decision to win the UFC light heavyweight title.
Jessica Andrade lands 231 significant strikes in a UFC women’s flyweight fight for a new UFC women’s flyweight record. Andrade defeated Lauren Murphy via unanimous decision.
Jessica Andrade tied Amanda Nunes or most wins in women’s UFC history with her 15th victory with the promotion.
Jessica Andrade set a UFC women’s flyweight record in beating Lauren Murphy at UFC 283 | Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
A deep dive into the statistics from UFC 283: Teixeira vs. Hill The UFC held its fi…
Jessica Andrade set a UFC women’s flyweight record in beating Lauren Murphy at UFC 283 | Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
A deep dive into the statistics from UFC 283: Teixeira vs. Hill
The UFC held its first pay-per-view event of 2023 on Saturday. At the top of that card, UFC 283, Jamahal Hill captured the vacant UFC light heavyweight title, while in the co-main event, Brandon Moreno put the UFC flyweight title back around his waist.
Before that, Gilbert Burns, Jessica Andrade and Johnny Walkers delighted the Brazilian crowd with dominant wins in their fights in front of the crowd at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Below, we take a deep dive into the stats from the event. UFC 283’s main card streamed on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ABC and ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
Shortest Three-Round Fight: Gabriel Bonfim submits Mounir Lazzez at 0:49 of Round 1.
Latest Finish in a Three-Round Fight: Thiago Moises submits Melquizael Costa at 4:05 of Round 2.
Most Takedowns Landed: Thiago Moises lands four of seven attempts on Melquizael Costa.
Most Submission Attempts: Deiveson Figueiredo two submission attempts vs. Brendan Moreno.
Most Knockdowns Landed: Five fighters with one knockdown apiece.
Most Significant Strikes Landed in a Three-Round Fight: Jessica Andrade lands 231 of 369 significant strike attempts in unanimous decision win over Lauren Murphy.
Jamahal Hill lands 232 significant strikes in a UFC light heavyweight fight for a new UFC LHW single-fight record. Hill defeated Glover Teixeira to by unanimous decision to win the UFC light heavyweight title.
Jessica Andrade lands 231 significant strikes in a UFC women’s flyweight fight for a new UFC women’s flyweight record. Andrade defeated Lauren Murphy via unanimous decision.
Jessica Andrade tied Amanda Nunes or most wins in women’s UFC history with her 15th victory with the promotion.
The real winners and losers from UFC 283 With UFC 283, the UFC returned to Brazil for the first time in nearly two years. The event, which took place …
With UFC 283, the UFC returned to Brazil for the first time in nearly two years. The event, which took place at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, was the first UFC card in Brazil where a crowd was in attendance since UFC 237 in May 2019. The fans in attendance endured highs and lows throughout the 15-fight event.
Fans hoping to close the prelims on a high note for the legendary Mauricio “Shogun” Rua were left heartbroken as he ended his career with a first-round TKO loss to Ihor Potieria. However, the fans in attendance had their spirits lifted by the first three fights on the main card as Brazilian fighters Johnny Walker, Jessica Andrade and Gilbert Burns scored dominant victories.
Unfortunately for the Brazilian fans, the event ended on a down note as both Deiveson Figueiredo and Glover Teixeira left the arena without UFC gold. Still, UFC 283 featured impressive promotional debuts from young Brazilian fighters Ismael and Gabriel Bonfim, who scored first-round stoppage victories.
As for non-Brazilian competitors, Jamahal Hill and Brandon Moreno scored monumental wins as Hill captured the UFC light heavyweight crown and Moreno regained the promotion’s flyweight title.
Read on for a complete list of winners and losers from UFC 283.
Winners
Jamahal Hill: The UFC light heavyweight division has a new champion in Jamahal Hill. The 31-year-old, who made his UFC debut off the Dana White Contender Series in 2020, showed some new wrinkles to his game while putting a beating on the former light heavyweight kingpin, Glover Teixeira.
Hill’s takedown defense was an impressive 89 percent in this fight. He managed range effectively, especially with his jabs. His activity was jaw-dropping for a light heavyweight, attempting 402 significant strikes and landing 232. His defense was on point, especially as Teixeira tired and his punches began to slow. However, the most impressive aspect of Hill’s game in winning the 205-pound UFC title were his kicks, both to the body and head of his opponent.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say he is the undisputed champion because, after all, the title became available when Jiri Prochazka surrendered it following a shoulder injury he is rehabbing. Still, Hill left no doubt as to who the better fighter was between himself and Teixeira and right now, that’s the only thing that matters.
Alex Pereira: With Glover Teixeira retiring following his loss to Jamahal Hill, UFC middleweight champ Alex Pereira will now have Teixeira as a full-time coach. That’s a positive development for Pereira, who Teixeira feels could one day become a two-division champion if he moves up to 205 pounds.
Glover Teixeira: Following his retirement announcement, Teixeira implored the Brazilian crowd to show Hill some respect as he left the octagon. The former champ said, via an interpreter, “I saw you guys were throwing popcorn and drinks at the last champion (Brandon Moreno). I want you to respect him (Hill). He’s going to walk back with me. He’s the champion.
Brandon Moreno: Brandon Moreno looked excellent in defeating Deiveson Figueiredo. His striking was much more effective, powerful and accurate and his patience, when caught in two guillotines, was superb.
Moreno and Figueiredo have brought out the best in each other over the past few years. The time they spent together inside the octagon should serve them both well going forward.
Gilbert Burns: Ahead of UFC 283, Gilbert Burns said he was “frustrated” after the UFC matchmakers booked him opposite Neil Magny. That had nothing to do with the quality of Magny as an opponent, but Burns, who entered Saturday as the No. 5 fighter in the official UFC welterweight rankings, wanted a “big” fight.
The former welterweight title challenger deserves that big matchup after his first-round submission win over Magny. If the UFC matchmakers were listening, Burns had a suggestion as to who his adversary should be in that next matchup — the No. 2 ranked Colby Covington.
Jessica Andrade: Jessica Andrade put on a striking clinic against Lauren Murphy. The fight was a one-sided beatdown. However, I’m not sure a win at flyweight will get Andrade her requested strawweight title matchup, but you never know.
Johnny Walker: I’m not sure if the old aggressive Johnny Walker is back, but he has two straight first-round finishes to his name following a knockout of Paul Craig in the opening fight of the UFC 283 pay-per-view card.
Walker did an excellent job capitalizing on the mistake Craig made by hanging onto Walker’s leg while still in striking range. Walker was the No. 12 fighter in the official UFC light heavyweight rankings ahead of Saturday’s fight card, while Craig was No. 9. Walker is very likely to earn himself the opportunity to face a higher-ranked opponent in his next outing.
Ihor Potieria: Ihor Potieria did not have an enviable job at UFC 283. He faced a Brazilian legend in Mauricio Rua in Brazil in Rua’s final career fight. Despite being in hostile territory and coming off a knockout loss in his UFC debut, the 26-year-old Potieria picked up his first UFC win with a knockout victory over Rua.
Brunno Ferreira: UFC 283 was supposed to be the event where Gregory Rodrigues got a test against a veteran opponent. Instead, Rodrigues faced the debuting Brunno Ferreira, who stepped in to replace Brad Taveres on short notice. Ferreira scored a highlight reel knockout over Rodrigues in the second round of their middleweight bout.
The 30-year-old Brazilian set up the finishing blow well, delivering a powerful left that put Rodrigues down and out. The victory moved Ferreira’s pro record to 10-0 with eight first-round finishes.
The UFC provided Ferreira an opportunity to shine. He took advantage of that.
Thiago Moises: Thiago Moises, a member of the UFC roster since 2018, picked up a second straight submission win with the promotion when he stopped late replacement opponent, Melquizael Costa.
Moises was the much better fighter in this lightweight matchup, but what stood out about the Brazilian’s performance was his patience and veteran savvy.
Gabriel Bonfim: Gabriel Bonfim had much to live up to after his brother, Ismael Bonfim, delivered an early knockout of the year candidate on the early prelims. The former LFA welterweight champion ran through Mounir Lazzez at UFC 283. The 25-year-old Brazilian was aggressive in his striking, which forced Lazzez to shoot a takedown. That led to Bonfim locking up a fight-ending guillotine choke. The fight ended 49 seconds into the first round. With the win, Bonfim moved to 14-0.
Gabriel Bonfim follows up his brothers’ epic performance with an incredible performance of his own #UFC283pic.twitter.com/kRLAtXcXZn
Jailton Almeida: After his win at UFC 279, I said Jailton Almeida needed a test. The UFC matchmakers gave him that — at least on paper — by matching him against a ranked opponent at UFC 283. However, the No. 15 UFC heavyweight, Shamil Abdurakhimov proved to be easy work for the 31-year-old Brazilian.
Almeida again showed his patience and skills in picking up his fourth straight UFC finish. Almeida is not a large heavyweight, but he has the skills, strength and technique to easily overwhelm his opponents. If I’m the UFC matchmakers, Almeida’s next fight will be against a top-10 heavyweight and it won’t be on the prelims.
Ismael Bonfim: Ismael Bonfim had a fantastic UFC debut on Saturday, face-planting Terrance McKinney in the second round with a perfectly timed and immaculately placed flying double knee. Bonfim might have been overlooked heading into UFC 283, but that won’t happen again.
Before he landed the nasty knockout, Bonfim showed incredible confidence, excellent counters and impressive fight IQ. Keep an eye on this 27-year-old Brazilian.
Nicolas Dalby: Nicolas Dalby, the former Cage Warriors welterweight champion, picked up his first winning streak in the UFC with a win over Warlley Alves at UFC 283. Dalby, who went 1-3-1 in his first stint with the UFC in 2015-16. Dalby rejoined the promotion in 2019. He was 3-1-0-1 heading into Saturday’s fight.
Josiane Nunes: Josiane Nunes moved to 3-0 in the UFC women’s featherweight division with a decision win over Zarah Fairn. With the weight division being very shallow, that might earn her a shot against the UFC’s women’s 145-pound division, Amanda Nunes and while that will hopefully earn her a good payday, I’m not looking forward to how that fight might play out.
Daniel Marcos: Daniel Marcos made his UFC debut at UFC 283 and the 29-year-old from Peru looked good. Marcos didn’t start his fight opposite Saimon Oliveira particularly fast, but he upped his pace as the bout wore on. By the time the second round rolled around, Marcos had taken control of the fight. He upped his pace, mixed up his techniques and showed good finishing instincts in picking up the knockout that moved his overall record to 13-0.
With his good striking defense early and his ability to up his aggression when he sees his opponent begins to fade, Marcos could cause problems for his future foes.
Glover Teixeira: Glover Teixeira fought for the UFC title in 2014. He lost to then-champion Jon Jones. Over seven years later, Teixeira got a second crack at UFC light heavyweight gold. He won the belt by submitting Jan Blachowicz. However, Teixeira dropped the title in his first defense, losing to Jiri Prochazka. The 43-year-old Brazilian had a chance to get the title back at UFC 283, but he failed to do so. The former champ showed a lot of heart and toughness in going five rounds, but his effort was for naught, much to the chagrin of many fight fans.
Jon Anik: After the main event fighters gave their in-cage interviews, Jon Anik referred to Jamahal Hill and Glover Teixeira as “two of the classiest individuals on this roster, top to bottom.”
That claim is a stretch when it comes to Hill, who vociferously defended UFC president Dana White on social media after White offered no defense for slapping his wife on New Year’s Eve.
Daniel Cormier: In the fifth round of the main event, Cormier said Jamahal Hill answered all the questions that had arisen about him. To me, that was Cormier getting caught up in the moment. Hill fought very well. He showed more in this fight than we had seen from him in the past, but Magomed Ankalaev and Jiri Prochazka are not 43-year-old Glover Teixeira. To be blunt, we all need to see more of Hill before we can claim he answered all the questions about his upside.
Glover Teixeira’s corner: According to UFC commentator Jon Anik, Glover Teixeira’s coach, John Hackleman, wanted to stop the main event before the start of the fifth round. However, Hackleman, who was outside the octagon and not one of the main corners for Teixeira, did not get his wish. Like the Lauren Murphy fight before this one, the right move would have been to end the fight early.
Deiveson Figueiredo: Deiveson Figueiredo’s lack of striking output and his inability to do damage when he did connect with his attempts, had him behind on the scorecards before Brandon Moreno closed his right eye with a punch in the third round.
On a positive note, Figueiredo said he is going to move up to bantamweight for his next fight. That’s the right move for the 35-year-old former champion.
Lauren Murphy’s corner: Lauren Murphy didn’t hurt Jessica Andrade during the first 10 minutes of their fight. What gave her corner the idea that she could score a stoppage in the third stanza is beyond me. Instead, Murphy’s corner allowed her to take five minutes of unnecessary damage.
Paul Craig: In hindsight, Paul Craig will likely regret his decision to hang onto Johnny Walker’s leg as Walker landed shot after shot to Craig’s head.
Mauricio Rua: Former UFC light heavyweight champion and PRIDE Grand Prix champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua entered UFC 283 as an underdog to Ihor Potieria, who came into the event coming off a TKO loss to Nicolae Negumereanu in his UFC debut.
Rua came out looking to end the fight via strikes, but he did not get the fairytale ending to his MMA career in Brazil. Instead, the 41-year-old Rua went 0-3 in his last three UFC fights, with two knockout defeats.
The UFC might give MMA legends like Rua a video package and an in-cage interview for their last fight, but the promotion tends to use fighters like Rua to build the careers of younger competitors. That’s what we saw on Saturday night.
Gregory Rodrigues: A heavy favorite against late replacement Brunno Ferreira saw the momentum he gained via his “Fight of the Night” bonus-winning TKO win over Chidi Njokuani come to a screeching halt when Ferreira knocked him out.
The 30-year-old Rodrigues needs a bounce-back performance in his next outing.
Zarah Fairn: The UFC women’s featherweight division has an incredibly small number of fighters. There will likely be one less women’s 145-pound competitor following UFC 283 after Zarah Fairn fell to 0-3 in the UFC with a loss to Josiane Nunes, who was at a significant height and reach disadvantage.
Saimon Oliveira: Saimon Oliveira dropped to 0-2 in the UFC with a knockout loss to Daniel Marcos. The 31-year-old Oliveira, a pro since 2013, is far too deep into his career to show the weaknesses he displayed at UFC 283. His takedown attempts were without setup, his cardio failed and he wasted energy throwing — and missing — spinning techniques.
UFC: The song that introduced the event. Not good. I’ll leave it at that.
Daniel Cormier: If Daniel Cormier is on the call for a UFC event, there’s a good chance he will get the scoring criteria wrong. He did just that during the Cody Stamann vs. Luan Lacerda prelim fight. Seconds after Lacerda completed a takedown — and before he did anything with that takedown — Cormier said, “This takedown is very telling.” So again, here is how the MMA scoring criteria reads when it comes to takedowns:
“It shall be noted that a successful takedown is not merely a changing of position, but the establishment of an attack from the use of the takedown. Top and bottom position fighters are assessed more on the impactful/effective result of their actions, more so than their position.”
In other words, the takedown by itself is meaningless when it comes to scoring.
I’m sure readers are tired of me hitting this point, but I don’t think you should blame me. Instead, blame Cormier — a former two-division UFC champion — for regularly getting the scoring criteria wrong.
UFC: I understand the UFC doesn’t owe fighters like Mauricio Rua a graceful exit from the sport. I know the UFC’s job is to build up fighters who will remain with the promotion. However, that doesn’t mean I need to like it. The UFC should at least attempt to book a retiring veteran against a veteran peer in their final fight with the promotion.
UFC: During the UFC 283 broadcast, the UFC announced Jose Aldo will join the UFC Hall of Fame class of 2023. That’s great. However, if the UFC wants anyone to take its Hall of Fame seriously, it needs to update its website because, as I write this, the fighters who joined the promotion’s Hall of Fame in 2022 are not on the UFC Hall of Fame website.
UFC sponsors silent on Dana White slapping his wife | Photo by Amy Kaplan/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Bloody Elbow reached out to the UFC Vegas 67 event sponsors for comment on Dana White The silence continues.
Af…
UFC sponsors silent on Dana White slapping his wife | Photo by Amy Kaplan/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Bloody Elbow reached out to the UFC Vegas 67 event sponsors for comment on Dana White
The silence continues.
After TMZ released the video of UFC president Dana White slapping his wife on New Year’s Eve, the MMA world waited for the UFC, Endeavor, ESPN, Disney and TBS to release statements on the matter. That never happened.
The UFC was silent. The UFC’s owners at Endeavor did not make a statement. ESPN told Bloody Elbow to ask the UFC because they only handle “distribution.” Disney, who owns ESPN, offered nothing. TBS, who broadcasted White’s Power Slap show on Wednesday, didn’t make a statement but delayed the premiere of that show for a week.
However, we found out via White that the delay was because “We pushed it back a week because I was supposed to come back (from vacation) and do this whole media tour, which obviously wasn’t going to happen when I got back.”
The UFC held its first event of 2023 on Saturday, January 14. That event, UFC Vegas 67, took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The fight card streamed in its entirety on ESPN+. Bloody Elbow reached out to the sponsors who advertised on the octagon fight surface that night to see if they had any comment on the New Year’s Eve video of White slapping his wife. The sponsors we contacted:
Manscaped, Sweet Sweat / Sports Research, Draft Kings, Crypto.com, Universal, Toyo Tires, Vechain. Monster Energy and EasyPost.
None of the sponsors besides EasyPost, which had an automated response to our email, acknowledged or responded to our request for comment.
White once said, “There’s one thing that you never bounce back from, and that’s putting your hands on a woman. Been that way in the UFC since we started here. You don’t bounce back from putting your hands on a woman.”
Despite that, White has faced no repercussions for his actions — and unless something unexpected happens — it appears it will be business as usual for White and the UFC in 2023.
