Last night’s UFC on Fuel show will be one of those cards that I’ll remember fondly for a long time, and not just because of the awesome main event between Dustin Poirier and The Korean Zombie.
No; I’ll remember last night because it marked the first time since Zuffa bought the company that Dana White did not attend the event. White, in case you haven’t heard, was scheduled to undergo surgery this morning after being diagnosed with Ménière’s disease.
It’s a condition that occurs when fluid in the inner ear gets too high, causing dizziness and balance. White told Yahoo’s Kevin Iole that he was meeting with the Fertitta brothers on Tuesday at their Red Rock casino property when the medical issues hit him hard, and he left the casino in a wheelchair.
And so, instead of attending the event in Virginia, as he usually does, White watched the fight card from home on television. And, like every other UFC fan in the world, he tweeted his thoughts on the show as it unfolded.
He was clearly unhappy with the lack of fighter walkouts:
@chilledt5 and @lorenzofertitta fix the walk ins!!! We the fans want them!! What the he’ll do u people do all day @UFC fix this shit!
— Dana White (@danawhite) May 16, 2012
@ChilledT5 is UFC senior producer Craig Borsari, and @LorenzoFertitta is obviously Zuffa CEO Lorenzo Fertitta.
White also admitted that the fight between Donald Cerrone and Jeremy Stephens should have been the co-main event instead of the boring Armi Sadollah vs. Jorge Lopez bout:
@diznizzle @lorenzofertitta @cowboycerrone @lilheathenmma shoulda been. We fucked up
— Dana White (@danawhite) May 16, 2012
Before he crashed out for the night—well before his usual 4 a.m. daily bedtime, I must add—White chimed in with his thoughts on the incredible main event performance by Chan Sung Jung:
That fight kicked my ass!! Night everyone. Thanks to all the fighters tonight! Sick card and the Korean Zombie looked AMAZING 2 night.
— Dana White (@danawhite) May 16, 2012
All of these tweets add up to one conclusion: While he may be the president and public face of the biggest fight promotion in the world, White is also a fan of the sport and of his own product.
I’ve said it countless times before, but I’ll say it again. White’s willingness to interact with fans on a personal basis via Twitter must be commended. There are plenty of times when he says something he probably shouldn’t, but I’d prefer to take the good with the bad.
White tweeting in real-time about an event while watching from home? That’s definitely a good thing.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com