UFC President, Dana White, fired back at those criticizing his recent birthday present to Nelk Boy, Kyle Forgeard, in vintage fashion.
Earlier this month (July 12, 2022), White celebrated with Forgeard his 28th year on Earth and had a rather generous gift to share. Presenting Forgeard with a plastic bag full of $250,000, the mixed martial arts (MMA) community had plenty to say — fighters included — in response after consistent fighter pay complaints.
“Let me set this record straight,” White said on The Pat McAfee Show (h/t MMA Junkie). “First of all, all these people on the internet — go f—k yourselves. Okay. I spend my money however the f—k I want to spend my money. Mind your own f—king business.
“No. 2, if you look at what Kyle and the Nelk Boys have done as far as how they’re handling and a lot of other things that they’ve done, those kids have never asked me for anything, ever,” he continued. “They’ve never asked me for anything, and they couldn’t be better people. Kyle has done so many things for me. Believe me, the $250,000 that I gave him for his birthday, it does not cover the amount of things that kid has done for me. Don’t count other people’s money and mind your own f—king business.”
Coming from someone of White’s status, the present was found particularly problematic by many due to the fact that payouts, whether contractual or from bonuses, are rarely that high of a number according to historical reports — especially for promotional newcomers. However, the UFC boss felt the need to clarify that it was his own and none UFC-related.
“A lot of this is driven by the scumbag MMA media,” White said. “So what happens is, they act like there’s this massive safe here at the UFC offices that says ‘fighter pay’ on it and I just go in there and grab whatever I want out of fighter pay. No, you f—king pieces of s—t. This is money that I have actually made over an entire career, and I will spend it however the f—k I want.”