Dana White just can’t help himself.
The UFC CEO has never been shy when it comes to his feelings about Showtime Boxing and Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza. Over the last week, the pair have been firing shots at one another, all kickstarted by White who had an almost giddy reaction to a report that Showtime Boxing would end its nearly 40-year run following the conclusion of the 2024 schedule.
Espinoza didn’t take kindly to the comments and snapped back, taking a dig at White’s perpetual unprofessionalism despite being the CEO of a publicly traded company.
“I’m shocked by the comments,” Espinoza told FightHype.com after a press conference for the Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo pay-per-view event. “We’ve always known Dana to be so articulate and intelligent and witty with his comments. It’s so strange of him to lash out in anger. Who would have guessed that he would lash out in anger at somebody. We’ve never seen that before, right?”
He continued, “If that’s the only way he can engage in some sort of dialogue, then more power to him. I hope he can someday elevate his vocabulary and learn how to speak more eloquently and articulately. I think it’s something that might be necessarily helpful if you’re going to be a leader of a publicly traded company.”
Perhaps making Espinoza’s point, Dana White took another dig at the Showtime Sports President courtesy of an assist from rival combat sports promotion ONE Championship.
During the ONE Fight Night 14 broadcast on Friday night, an unidentified individual made his way on camera just as submission specialist Danielle Kelly was set to make her walk to the Circle.
It was a relatively minor production mishap, but White saw it as a golden opportunity to take a jab at both of his competitors. “Espinoza has taken over the Production for One FC,” White wrote on X.
It’s Not the First Time Dana White Has Slammed Showtime Boxing or Stephen Espinoza
It’s far from the first time Dana White has slammed Showtime Boxing and Espinoza ever since the pair teamed up to co-promote Conor McGregor’s boxing match with Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather in 2017.
“Showtime is f*cking horrible,” White said in August following the Power Slap 4 event. “Those guys suck so bad; you f*cking guys could show up with your f*cking video cameras and do a better job than Showtime. Seriously, it’s the worst production in all of television. F*cking PBS has better f*cking programming than Showtime. It’s horrible. Everybody who works on that f*cking show should be embarrassed” (h/t MMA Mania).
With Showtime Boxing reportedly closing up shop next year, perhaps Dana White will have the opportunity to show Espinoza how it’s done by launching his long-talked-about Zuffa Boxing concept.