(Photo via Getty.)
Dana White lobbed a financial insult at Renan Barao in the wake of UFC 177.
In case you’ve been away from the Internet for the last few days: The main event of UFC 177 was supposed to be bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao–an unnecessary rematch of their bout from May. Barao botched his weight cut, which caused him to fall and hit his head in the shower. He was rushed to the hospital and couldn’t fight. Weight cutting is a serious health issue, but Dana White and the UFC apparently don’t care.
Insults to the ego are one thing, insults to the wallet are another. The former is naught but the buzzing of flies, but the latter stings like Head and Shoulders in the eye. Renan Barao will probably get over Joe Rogan essentially calling him an embarrassment to himself and the UFC. But will Barao get over Dana White refusing to pay him his show money? Because that’s what Dana White is doing. He’s not paying Barao.
“Barao’s not making any money,” Dana White said at the post-UFC 177 media scrum. “I’m not paying Barao. Barao showed up and didn’t fight.”
Henry Cejudo, who also messed up his weight cut and couldn’t fight, did not get paid. In the scrum, White referred to Cejudo as a “kid.”
First: Don’t call an OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST “kid.” That’s denigrating and stupid.
Second: What the fuck, Dana?
So Cejudo and Barao don’t get paid for draining their bodies of precious nutrients because Dana White is mad at them? It wouldn’t be a shameful Dana White moment without weapons-grade hypocrisy.
Alessio Sakara got paid when he withdrew from UFC 122 the day of the event due to “flu like symptoms” but Barao and Cejudo don’t get paid? Nick Ring got paid when he had to withdraw from his UFC 154 fight when he got sick, but not Barao and Cejudo? Stefan Struve got paid at UFC 175 when he couldn’t fight, but not Barao and Cejudo?
This is as bad as when EliteXC paid a guy $1. White could have at least given Barao and Cejudo a Harley Davidson for his troubles…