In the history of sports there’s never been a more outspoken frontman than UFC President Dana White, which has proven to be both a good and a bad thing.
White has helped the sport gain a lot of attention over the years, and there’s been no more prominent advocate and defender of the sport than the UFC president, but his notoriously fiery temper has also proven to be counterproductive at times.
There’s no clearer example of this than on the occasions that White has crossed a line few promoters would dare to by taking aim at his own fighters, and in this article we’ll look at 10 of the most jaw-dropping instances in which some of the biggest and most successful stars ever to set foot in the Octagon have been publicly put on blast by the UFC head honcho.
Nate Diaz
When multiple-time UFC ‘Fight Night’ and ‘UFC On FOX’ headliner Nate Diaz began complaining in 2014 that he was being underpaid, White opted to publicly roast his fighter.
“Lowest rated FOX show ever. Lowest rated FOX show ever,” White stated after Diaz headlined UFC On FOX 13 in late 2014. “His numbers, he doesn’t pull the numbers in. Nick (Diaz) is a needle mover. Nick moves the needle. [Nate] doesn’t pull good numbers.
“Listen, if Nate Diaz was the guy, we’d work it out in a minute. If you move the needle, those are the guys that make the big money. You realize he’s like 1-3 in his last three fights? He’s 1-3, he’s nowhere near a title fight, he’s never won a title, and he doesn’t move the needle.”
Diaz proceeded to make White eat his words by taking on a late notice fight with Conor McGregor in 2016 that did over 1.3 million buys, with the rematch raking in a record-breaking 1.65 million buys.
Those fights made Diaz one of the UFC’s biggest stars, but when he returned to the negotiating table for his next fight, White stubbornly stuck to his guns and again looked to shoot him down by questioning his achievements.
”Listen, at the end of the day, what is Diaz worth without Conor McGregor?” White mused. “I don’t know. The kid isn’t in a position for pay-per-view or any of that type of [stuff].”
The post 10 Times Dana White Went Off On The UFC’s Biggest Stars appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.