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Ahead of UFC’s first visit to Manchester, England since 2016, the main card for UFC 304 has been unveiled. Dana White announced the main event will feature…
Ahead of UFC’s first visit to Manchester, England since 2016, the main card for UFC 304 has been unveiled. Dana White announced the main event will feature…
The MMA journalist who asked UFC CEO Dana White to hook her up with Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone for a…
The MMA journalist who asked UFC CEO Dana White to hook her up with Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone for a branding session is snapping back at critics — namely MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani.
Following Saturday’s UFC St. Louis card, White addressed members of the media and was asked by one particular journalist about his competition bull, Twisted Steel. However, the conversation took a sharp turn off the rails when the woman, later identified as Abbey Wagoner of Mola Sport, asked if he could arrange a meeting with the UFC Hall of Famer so that he could brand her.
“Clout, for fun. I’ll be the girl BMF,” Wagoner responded when White asked why should would want to be branded by Cerrone.
Helwani, considered by many to be the gold standard of MMA journalism, chimed in on the incident, calling it an “embarrassing” moment for combat sports media.
“This is what the UFC wants at their ‘press conferences,’ Helwani wrote on social media. “Make no mistake about it. The sport has come so far. It has evolved so much. The UFC is on fire. The athletes are more talented than ever. The ‘media,’ however, has gone backwards. Embarrassing.”
Less than 24 hours later, Wagoner snapped back at Helwani online, explaining why she posed the unusual question. She also reminded Helwani that, despite his undeniable position as a pioneer in his field, he is not the “be-all-end-all” in combat sports journalism.
“What’s up fight fans? I just wanted to jump on here and address something real quick,” Wagoner said in a video on X. “You can hear it in my voice. I was at UFC Fight Night, Derrick Lewis vs. Nascimento. It was a good night. Some of you guys might recognize my voice from the post-fight press conference. I was the female reporter that asked Dana White about Twisted Steel and specifically about getting branded at the world finals.
“Ariel Helwani, I’ve got a lot of respect for you as a reporter and as a trailblazer in combat sports media because without you, I wouldn’t have the job that I have and a lot of people wouldn’t have the jobs that they have. But you need to recognize too that, yeah, you’re a journalist. You have a podcast. You talk to fighters. You and are in very different lanes and on top of that, you made it out to seem like I was asking an irrelevant question.
“Dana White has a very competitive PBR bucking bull that I’ve been following since November of last year. I’ve been chasing the ‘Cowboy’ story. The bull ride. The eight seconds for glory since they announced it. I was one of the first MMA reporters to actually give a sh*t about that story and I’m one of the only combat sports personalities that shows up at the PBR. Other than the Monster crew, I was the only one in Jacksonville covering Twisted Steel and I went out specifically to Albuquerque. So, maybe don’t question my relevancy or my right to be in that room without understanding everything that goes in.
“And maybe don’t clip the one part of the conversation that Dana took a little bit too far and that I rolled with. It’s news media. I am new, and you are not the be-all-end-all, Ariel.”
With only 774 followers on X, Wagoner has no issues responding to practically everyone commenting on her video, doubling down on her antics at the post-fight press event and her message to Helwani.
MMA reporters can be an odd bunch, and Dana White was definitely caught off guard by one very strange…
MMA reporters can be an odd bunch, and Dana White was definitely caught off guard by one very strange question that he was asked at the post-fight press conference for the fight night in St. Louis this past Saturday.
The fights were electric, and the atmosphere at the Enterprise Center was indeed special. Dana White said it felt like he was in the crowd of a pay-per-view event, and the fighters did not disappoint in providing some insane moments.
The fight night also broke a company record, with a gate valued at over two million dollars, the highest for any fight night before. This has even got Dana White chomping at the bit to “phase out” the UFC Apex and more consistently keep the UFC traveling the globe.
Dana White was answering questions at the post-fight press conference and was caught off guard by a reporter with a strange fantasy.
“I’ve got one little challenge for Cowboy (Cerrone),” the female reporter said. “If you notice this BMF brand at the top of my hat, I got that custom branding iron, and I said if he did his ride, I was going to let him brand me, but now I just want to let him do it; what do you think about that?”
White was visibly confused by this question and gave a slightly uncomfortable laugh. “Did you say brand you?” White asked. “You and Cowboy were meant for each other. There’s no way in hell that I would make that happen; you’re crazy.”
The female reporter went on to say that she would like to be branded by Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone just for the “clout” and “fun” of it. Obviously, such a silly question can lead to scrutiny, and it certainly did for the female reporter.
The reporter wouldn’t just go down without a response, and later on, she would take to her social media channels and talk about what happened and the criticism she is now receiving.
What are your thoughts about the reporter asking to be branded?
MMA reporters can be an odd bunch, and Dana White was definitely caught off guard by one very strange…
MMA reporters can be an odd bunch, and Dana White was definitely caught off guard by one very strange question that he was asked at the post-fight press conference for the fight night in St. Louis this past Saturday.
The fights were electric, and the atmosphere at the Enterprise Center was indeed special. Dana White said it felt like he was in the crowd of a pay-per-view event, and the fighters did not disappoint in providing some insane moments.
The fight night also broke a company record, with a gate valued at over two million dollars, the highest for any fight night before. This has even got Dana White chomping at the bit to “phase out” the UFC Apex and more consistently keep the UFC traveling the globe.
Dana White was answering questions at the post-fight press conference and was caught off guard by a reporter with a strange fantasy.
“I’ve got one little challenge for Cowboy (Cerrone),” the female reporter said. “If you notice this BMF brand at the top of my hat, I got that custom branding iron, and I said if he did his ride, I was going to let him brand me, but now I just want to let him do it; what do you think about that?”
White was visibly confused by this question and gave a slightly uncomfortable laugh. “Did you say brand you?” White asked. “You and Cowboy were meant for each other. There’s no way in hell that I would make that happen; you’re crazy.”
The female reporter went on to say that she would like to be branded by Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone just for the “clout” and “fun” of it. Obviously, such a silly question can lead to scrutiny, and it certainly did for the female reporter.
The reporter wouldn’t just go down without a response, and later on, she would take to her social media channels and talk about what happened and the criticism she is now receiving.
What are your thoughts about the reporter asking to be branded?
After a thrilling UFC fight night in St. Louis, Dana White is teeming about potentially getting back to the…
After a thrilling UFC fight night in St. Louis, Dana White is teeming about potentially getting back to the UFC’s pre-pandemic ways of traveling the globe for (nearly) every card.
The night of fights at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis was truly electric. The fights featured many hometown heroes, and the crowd was deafening as it seemingly roared all night long. Many said the atmosphere was as captivating as those in the crowds of PPV events, and it also helped that the fights themselves did not disappoint.
Derrick Lewis returned to his winning ways and ended the night strong by knocking out Rodrigo Nascimento early into the third round. The co-main featured Joaquin Buckley victorious in fighting Nursulton Ruziboev in front of a hometown crowd, and both fans and fighters brought the intensity. It was a great night of fights, and it’s got UFC president Dana White very excited about the prospect of getting the UFC back on the road.
Of course, the UFC Apex is the organization’s private arena of sorts. It has served the UFC well but has grown stale in the face of critics. The UFC Apex doesn’t really feature much of a crowd, and despite the amount of money it can save the company, it is often labeled as boring compared to legitimate arenas.
The atmosphere at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis was definitely anything but boring, and it also was very profitable. According to Dana White, the fight night in St. Louis was the highest gate ever for a UFC Fight Night, generating $2.47 million with almost 16 thousand fans present.
“Even if you’re watching on ESPN, I mean, everybody — I’m sure you guys were getting text too. They’re like, ‘Jesus Christ. It’s like a pay-per-view there right now.’” Dana White said at the post-fight press conference.
“And this is,” he continued. “When you think about how we built this business, it was taking it out of the big markets. When we first got into the fight business, everybody just went to Vegas, Atlantic City, sometimes New York, sometimes LA. That’s the only place that really had fights unless you had a local kid.”
“We built this business, taking this thing to every city all over the world,” Dana White said proudly. “And as we start to get our s— together, I will call it, and start to move out and start to go to these different cities like we used to, the whole sport just goes to another level.”
When asked if this meant the UFC Apex would no longer be the main host of UFC events, White replied in the affirmative. “It’s what I’ve been saying for a long time,” he said. We gotta get out of the Apex and start doing more events in all these different cities, and we’re starting to do it. We’re getting it done this year.”
Where would you like to see the UFC travel to next?
Conor McGregor’s long-awaited return to the Octagon is still several weeks away, but that isn’t stopping the Irishman from…
Conor McGregor’s long-awaited return to the Octagon is still several weeks away, but that isn’t stopping the Irishman from breaking more revenue records.
On Saturday, June 29th, McGregor will compete for the first time in nearly three years when he meets former Bellator MMA champion Michael Chandler in the UFC 303 headliner. Emanating from T-Mobile Arena during International Fight Week, the event is expected to be a massive money-maker for the promotion.
Speaking at the UFC St. Louis post-fight press event, CEO Dana White confirmed that the gate for McGregor’s return is already “way over” $20 million, making it their highest gate of all time.
“It’s already way over $20 million,” White confirmed.
Conor McGregor is already responsible for three of the four highest gates in UFC history, the biggest being his November 2016 clash with then-lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. That event generated $17.7 million.
With UFC 300 bringing in $16.5 million at the gate and a reported million-plus pay-per-view buys, 2024 will undoubtedly be another banner year for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Maybe they’ll finally share some of that wealth with it’s fighters. … But probably not.
McGregor’s quote-unquote “greatest comeback in combat sports history” comes 35 months removed from a devastating leg break suffered in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in July 2021. Though he has been out of action, ‘Mystic Mac’ has kept himself busy.
Aside from selling his popular brand of Irish whiskey, Proper No. 12, for a whopping $600 million, he also made his big screen debut in a remake of the 1989 action classic Road House for Amazon Studios.
McGregor also made headlines last month when he announced that he had become a part owner of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship during the promotion’s fourth-annual KnuckleMania event in California.
