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Dana White comments on Stephen A. Smith’s criticism towards Donald Cerrone’s UFC 246 performance
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith drew some flak for his criticism towards Donald Cerrone’s UFC 246 performance against Conor McGregor. Fellow analyst Joe Rogan went to respond, and so did McGregor, who later demanded an apology from the veteran commentator.
UFC president Dana White recently spoke about the issue during a pre-UFC 247 interview with MMA Junkie. While he expectedly sided with Rogan, he also expressed his disapproval towards berating a fighter’s performance, especially after a loss.
“One of the things that we hated was on HBO boxing and some other boxing they would do,” White said. “Listen, you’re tuning in and buying the pay-per-view because you love these guys and you respect these fighters, and you’re a fan of the sport. The last thing you want to do is hear somebody ripping them apart.
“I’m not into it. Rogan is not into it. You don’t see that in the UFC,” he continued. “There will be times where I’m pissed off at a guy, and I’ll voice my opinion on what he did or whatever – or if a fight is really bad or somebody did something.
“What we don’t do is, when a fight is over and a guy loses, we don’t go in and rip them apart. It’s just not our style. We’re fans. We don’t do it.”
Ultimately, White says he respects Smith as a man with his own opinions.
“For Stephen A. Smith, that’s his thing. That’s what he does,” he said. “It’s going to happen. You’re always going to have people who have difference in opinions, especially when you have two very opinionated guys like Stephen A. Smith and Joe Rogan.”
Given the UFC’s partnership with ESPN, Smith will likely have his commentary about this weekend’s title fight between Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes at UFC 247. It takes place on Saturday in Houston, Texas.