Dana White on Tyron Woodley’s racism claims: ‘He’s a bit of a drama queen’

Dana White responds to Tyron Woodley’s claims of racism in the sport.

Tyron Woodley is not exactly a beloved figure among fans. In the past several months, he has been vocal about how it could possibly be linked to prevalent racism in the sport today.

“Who’s the pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now? Demetrious Johnson,” Woodley said during a pre-UFC 209 interview. “African-American male, complete Tasmanian Devil. Why isn’t he getting the big endorsements? Why isn’t he making the most money? What’s the difference?”

“I’m by far the worst treated champion in history of the UFC. Blatantly facts. There’s no “think”, it’s complete fact.”

Dana White had something to say about Woodley’s claims though. During an interview with ESPN Radio’s Russell and Kanell on Friday, the brash UFC president thinks the current welterweight champion may have overblown the issue a little bit.

“The thing is with Tyron, first of all, he’s a smart guy,” White said. “He’s a good looking kid, he’s explosive, he’s got knockout power. But he’s a bit of a drama queen.”

White adds that Woodley could have been a bigger superstar if he held the same approach as Conor McGregor does.

“Conor McGregor has that ‘fight anybody, anywhere attitude’, but doesn’t just have the attitude, he lives it,” White said. “I’ve stood in front of him, ten days’ notice, and his opponents falls out, and he doesn’t care. ‘Bring them all, and I’m better than everybody, I’m the man, I’m the guy.’”

“If Tyron Woodley had that attitude, Tyron Woodley would be a massive star. Massive star. But he does these things where they’ll go on social media and say ‘I’m not fighting him. I don’t want to fight him, I think I want to fight this guy, or that guy.’ And that’s not what people want to hear. And then what he does is he’ll start fighting and arguing with people on social media.”

“Then he wonders why when we show up at a press conference, the whole crowd’s booing him,” White continued. “They’re not booing him ‘cause he’s black, there’s tons of black guys fighting in the UFC. If you look at the guy, right, he’s the perfect specimen. He’s the perfect athlete that you can get behind and promote until he shoots himself in the foot and does that type of stuff.”

Woodley faces Stephen Thompson in a rematch at UFC 209 in Las Vegas.

Dana White responds to Tyron Woodley’s claims of racism in the sport.

Tyron Woodley is not exactly a beloved figure among fans. In the past several months, he has been vocal about how it could possibly be linked to prevalent racism in the sport today.

“Who’s the pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now? Demetrious Johnson,” Woodley said during a pre-UFC 209 interview. “African-American male, complete Tasmanian Devil. Why isn’t he getting the big endorsements? Why isn’t he making the most money? What’s the difference?”

“I’m by far the worst treated champion in history of the UFC. Blatantly facts. There’s no “think”, it’s complete fact.”

Dana White had something to say about Woodley’s claims though. During an interview with ESPN Radio’s Russell and Kanell on Friday, the brash UFC president thinks the current welterweight champion may have overblown the issue a little bit.

“The thing is with Tyron, first of all, he’s a smart guy,” White said. “He’s a good looking kid, he’s explosive, he’s got knockout power. But he’s a bit of a drama queen.”

White adds that Woodley could have been a bigger superstar if he held the same approach as Conor McGregor does.

“Conor McGregor has that ‘fight anybody, anywhere attitude’, but doesn’t just have the attitude, he lives it,” White said. “I’ve stood in front of him, ten days’ notice, and his opponents falls out, and he doesn’t care. ‘Bring them all, and I’m better than everybody, I’m the man, I’m the guy.’”

“If Tyron Woodley had that attitude, Tyron Woodley would be a massive star. Massive star. But he does these things where they’ll go on social media and say ‘I’m not fighting him. I don’t want to fight him, I think I want to fight this guy, or that guy.’ And that’s not what people want to hear. And then what he does is he’ll start fighting and arguing with people on social media.”

“Then he wonders why when we show up at a press conference, the whole crowd’s booing him,” White continued. “They’re not booing him ‘cause he’s black, there’s tons of black guys fighting in the UFC. If you look at the guy, right, he’s the perfect specimen. He’s the perfect athlete that you can get behind and promote until he shoots himself in the foot and does that type of stuff.”

Woodley faces Stephen Thompson in a rematch at UFC 209 in Las Vegas.