Dana White is hoping that his resemblance to longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan will finally pay off. Stopped by…
Dana White is hoping that his resemblance to longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan will finally pay off.
Stopped by police while on the road, White hilariously snapped a pic of the patrol car behind him and expressed his hope that the officer on duty would mistake him for the world’s most famous podcaster.
It’s been more than 20 years since Dana White first gave Rogan an opportunity to color commentate UFC events, with their partnership beginning all the way back at UFC 37.5 in 2002. Since then, the two bald-headed bros have become multi-millionaires with White amassing a net worth of roughly half a billion dollars while Rogan recently signed a new deal with Spotify reportedly worth $250 million.
Dana White would rather quit the UFC than fire Joe Rogan
During a recent podcast appearance, White revealed that he had once threatened to tender his resignation from the UFC after the promotion’s parent company suggested they release Rogan from the UFC following his controversial use of racial slurs in 2022.
“Anybody who is with me, has been with me, knows,” White told Lex Fridman. “When you’re with me, you’re with me. It’s a two-way street. It’s not a one-way street. I’m not one of these guys that is gonna roll over.
“It’s like going through COVID — I wasn’t laying [off] any of these people,” he continued. “Some of these people have been with me for 20 years. We’re gonna lay ‘em off? Uh uh. This motherf*cker will burn, burn before I would do that to my people. It’s just never — none of that type of stuff is ever going to happen while I’m here. I can’t say what’s gonna happen when I leave, but when I’m here, the people who are with me and have been with me they know exactly what’s up, and Joe knows what’s up. It’s a two-way street. Joe Rogan has been very loyal to me, and I am very loyal to Joe Rogan.”
Dana White says he lost $3 million in one night at the casino in Las Vegas. White, the current…
Dana White says he lost $3 million in one night at the casino in Las Vegas.
White, the current UFC CEO, has been open about his love for playing blackjack. White has talked about being banned from casinos, but he also has quite a few losses.
During an appearance on Lex Fridman’s podcast, Dana White says he got too drunk at a casino one night and lost $3 million dollars playing blackjack.
“I would call this the biggest loss for many different reasons.” Dana White said during an appearance on Lex Fridman’s podcast. (via Middleeasy). “You live and you learn in life, and you figure things out as you go along. So one night, I’m over at the Rio, and they got these big suites over there. So I go over there with some buddies and we’ve got one of those suites and we have dinner and start drinking. It starts to ramp up, I’m having a good time and I make my way down to the high-limit room and we start gambling.
“I’m continuing to drink, and having a blast. I end up leaving and going home that night, and I lost like $80,000. So I wake up the next morning, ‘F*ck those motherf*ckers got me for $80,000 last night’. So I’m at work the next day, and the host over there calls me… I told him, ‘Don’t get too comfortable with my $80,000, I’m coming back for it’. Dead f*cking silence on the other end of the phone. He’s like, ‘Dana, you lost three million dollars last night,’” White added.
“Like, what the f*ck are you talking about? I only have a million and a half credit line. He goes ‘You made us call the GM of the hotel and you started calling him a f*cking p*ssy.’ I went, ‘Yeah, that does sound like something I would do.’”
Dana White understands how people lose money in Vegas
After that night, Dana White says he understands why Vegas gives away free drinks as he says you don’t think straight while drinking.
“There’s been a lot of cases where people are in Vegas and they’re like, ‘Oh, I lost all this money, and they were giving me free drinks, and I drank too much, and I was taken advantage of.’ No, you stupid motherf*cker. Man up. You got f*cking drunk. The alcohol is free, but you don’t have to f*cking drink it. And, you know, this was a huge learning lesson for me. I never drank again when I was playing cards after that night.”
Because of that, White says he has never drank while he is gambling ever again.
During a time when UFC CEO Dana White remained adamant that women would never be a part of his promotion, Carano made a name for herself competing under the Strikeforce and EliteXC banners. Before long, she became the most famous female fighter on the planet.
In 2009, she famously stepped inside the cage for a showdown with Cris Cyborg, headlining an event on Showtime that featured the likes of Gegard Mousasi, Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral, Gilbert Melendez, and Fabricio Werdum. Carano lost the bout, succumbing to a TKO in the final second of the opening round.
‘Conviction’ never formally announced her retirement from MMA after the loss, but she never fought again. However, it wasn’t due to a lack of trying.
Five years later, as Ronda Rousey was quickly becoming one of the biggest sports stars in the world, Carano liked the idea of a comeback fight against the then-UFC bantamweight champion. During a recent appearance on the PBD Podcast, Carano revealed that conversations with Dana White about making the fight happen were positive, but she ultimately blames him for it not coming to fruition.
“I needed six months,” Carano explained. “Because first of all, weight cutting for me during that time I would struggle because all of the women were in the 135 [pound] weight division and I could get down to 145 but there was only twice in my career where I got down to 136 and 139 and that is like chopping off a leg for me. It was so difficult for me but that’s where all the women were at that time because there wasn’t a lot of women.
“I sat down with Dana and [said] I wish you guys would have approached me five years ago because I’ve been waiting for this so I just need some time and I need you to keep it quiet, Dana. Keep it really quiet because I didn’t have a gym. I would have to go [re-immerse] myself in a gym, which when I go in a gym people put cameras on me and you have to find and build your team and I wasn’t living in Las Vegas, which is where my team was. So I was living in L.A. and it would have been hard and I needed to rebuild a team and do it right.
“Dana, and I love him now, he’s been amazing now but Dana’s Dana. He immediately started talking about it and it made my life very difficult to try and get to go into that” (h/t MMA Fighting).
On top of that, Carano was actively being courted by Hollywood after she landed the lead role in Haywire, an action thriller directed by Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh which was well received by critics and featured an immensely talented cast of actors.
“It is a very difficult thing to try and do both of those things at once,” Carano said about acting and fighting. “In my head, I’m just so passionate about the storytelling and the last couple of years I’ve just been passionate about trying to get back into that.”
After appearing in Deadpool opposite Ryan Reynolds, it was off to the races for Carano’s acting career. She had even earned herself a recurring role on the incredibly popular Disney+ series The Mandalorian and was in line for her own spinoff show before an ill-advised post on social media brought her budding film and television career to a crashing halt.
Gina Carano confident she would have won fabled fight Against Ronda Rousey
Of course, her fight with Ronda Rousey never came to be, but to this day, Gina Carano remains confident she would have come out on top.
“I do, absolutely [believe I would have won],” Carano said. “Because I pack a hell of a punch. I know how she punches. I punch like a trucker. [She would have the edge] on the ground obviously but I’m scramble. It’s no disrespect and I’m sure she would say the same thing that she would win, but that’s just something I know. After you’ve been punched like that, she got shook twice [by] Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm, I’m one of the hardest punchers that women’s mixed martial arts has ever seen.”
Though confident she would have finished Rousey inside the Octagon, Carano has nothing but respect for the UFC Hall of Famer. After all, Rousey often touted Carano as the reason she pursued mixed martial arts — something the former World MMA Awards’ Female Fighter of the Year never forgot.
“Ronda has just been such a respectful [person], she was such a little sh*t talker throughout her career, but the one person she didn’t really sh*t talk was me, really,” Carano said. “She really always did give me that tribute. To have not made the walk in the UFC and gotten to fight, to have the person that did really break down those barriers, that is very special to me and I think she’s a very special person.
“I think she gets a really bad [reputation] and people like to paint her as the bad guy, just because she likes to play the heel. She doesn’t mind playing the heel. It’s just certain people’s personalities but I think when you look deeper at the person that she is, which I watch and I study people, I think that’s a very special, special person.”
UFC CEO Dana White shares his thoughts on the MMA greatest of all-time discussion. MMA has seen a wide…
UFC CEO Dana White shares his thoughts on the MMA greatest of all-time discussion.
MMA has seen a wide range of talent across all generations, but when the often trivial ‘GOAT’ discussion is brought up typically you will get the same few names. Depending on what your requirements for the top spot may be, you’ll usually get Jon Jones, George St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, or if you’re a newer fan, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC
However, when asked on his thoughts White feels the answer is obvious. When asked by Lex Friedman on his podcast, White professed former light-heavyweight and current heavyweight title holder, Jones.
“Jon Jones — there’s no debate,” White said. “Nobody can debate who’s the greatest of all time. It’s absolutely positively Jon Jones. He’s never lost. He’s never been beaten in the Octagon ever.
“He destroyed everybody at Light Heavyweight, which at the time was the toughest weight class in the company and the sport,” White continued. “And then he moved up to heavyweight, won easily at heavyweight. And the other thing is that you have to factor in too is longevity. It’s undeniable. You can hate all you want. Jon Jones is the greatest of all time.”
This is all of course despite their long-standing hot-and-cold relationship that has been exacerbated by Jones’ personal issues and contract disputes.
After winning the title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, Jones was expected to bounce back in November of last year, booked to face Stipe Miocic for his first title defence.
Mandatory Credit: Chris Graythen
However, an injury forced Jones out of the bout, and while nothing has been booked a far more deserving number one contender has emerged in the form of Tom Aspinall.
This has forced a logjam at heavyweight, something that has plagued the division for some time now.
Dana White is forever loyal to Joe Rogan. The longtime UFC commentator and popular podcaster made his promotional debut…
Dana White is forever loyal to Joe Rogan.
The longtime UFC commentator and popular podcaster made his promotional debut at UFC 12 in 1997, years before White and the Fertitta brothers purchased the UFC for $2 million. However, it was White who gave Rogan his first shot at the commentary table, booking the then-Fear Factor host for UFC 37.5 (yeah, that’s a thing) in 2002.
20 years later, Rogan found himself in a heap of hot water after multiple clips of him using racial slurs emerged online. Calls for Rogan’s cancellation grew, particularly as multiple music artists pulled their catalogs from Spotify — which had an exclusive deal with Rogan then.
During a recent interview with Lex Fridman, Dana White revealed that the UFC’s parent company had considered giving Rogan the boot amid growing backlash. White made it clear that if he had been forced to dismiss Rogan, they’d have to find themselves a new UFC CEO as well.
“Anybody who is with me, has been with me, knows,” White said. “When you’re with me, you’re with me. It’s a two-way street. It’s not a one-way street. I’m not one of these guys that is gonna roll over.
“It’s like going through COVID. I wasn’t laying [off] any of these people,” he continued. “Some of these people have been with me for 20 years. We’re gonna lay ‘em off? Uh uh. This motherf*cker will burn, burn before I would do that to my people. It’s just never — none of that type of stuff is ever going to happen while I’m here. I can’t say what’s gonna happen when I leave, but when I’m here, the people who are with me and have been with me they know exactly what’s up, and Joe knows what’s up. It’s a two-way street. Joe Rogan has been very loyal to me, and I am very loyal to Joe Rogan.”
Joe Rogan worked his first 13 UFC events for free
Sharing some insight into his relationship with Rogan and the ride-or-die friendship they share, White shared that Rogan worked his first 13 events as a commentator for free while the promotion was still working to become profitable.
“It’s a fact that he doesn’t care about money and he did the first 13 shows free for us,” White said. “That was at a time when we were hurting and he was like, ‘Wait a minute. You want me to do the commentary? You’re saying I get to sit in the best seat in the house and watch these fights for free? Yeah, I’m in.’ Then, obviously, when he turned things around, we made it up to Joe, but Joe is one of the things I loved early about [the UFC].”
Today, Joe Rogan has a net worth of roughly $200 million. In February, it was revealed that Rogan had signed a new deal multi-year deal with Spotify worth an estimated $250 million.
In February 2022, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek denounced the host’s use of racist language but said, “I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer.”
Dana White is forever loyal to Joe Rogan. The longtime UFC commentator and popular podcaster made his promotional debut…
Dana White is forever loyal to Joe Rogan.
The longtime UFC commentator and popular podcaster made his promotional debut at UFC 12 in 1997, years before White and the Fertitta brothers purchased the UFC for $2 million. However, it was White who gave Rogan his first shot at the commentary table, booking the then-Fear Factor host for UFC 37.5 (yeah, that’s a thing) in 2002.
20 years later, Rogan found himself in a heap of hot water after multiple clips of him using racial slurs emerged online. Calls for Rogan’s cancellation grew, particularly as multiple music artists pulled their catalogs from Spotify — which had an exclusive deal with Rogan then.
During a recent interview with Lex Fridman, Dana White revealed that the UFC’s parent company had considered giving Rogan the boot amid growing backlash. White made it clear that if he had been forced to dismiss Rogan, they’d have to find themselves a new UFC CEO as well.
“Anybody who is with me, has been with me, knows,” White said. “When you’re with me, you’re with me. It’s a two-way street. It’s not a one-way street. I’m not one of these guys that is gonna roll over.
“It’s like going through COVID. I wasn’t laying [off] any of these people,” he continued. “Some of these people have been with me for 20 years. We’re gonna lay ‘em off? Uh uh. This motherf*cker will burn, burn before I would do that to my people. It’s just never — none of that type of stuff is ever going to happen while I’m here. I can’t say what’s gonna happen when I leave, but when I’m here, the people who are with me and have been with me they know exactly what’s up, and Joe knows what’s up. It’s a two-way street. Joe Rogan has been very loyal to me, and I am very loyal to Joe Rogan.”
Joe Rogan worked his first 13 UFC events for free
Sharing some insight into his relationship with Rogan and the ride-or-die friendship they share, White shared that Rogan worked his first 13 events as a commentator for free while the promotion was still working to become profitable.
“It’s a fact that he doesn’t care about money and he did the first 13 shows free for us,” White said. “That was at a time when we were hurting and he was like, ‘Wait a minute. You want me to do the commentary? You’re saying I get to sit in the best seat in the house and watch these fights for free? Yeah, I’m in.’ Then, obviously, when he turned things around, we made it up to Joe, but Joe is one of the things I loved early about [the UFC].”
Today, Joe Rogan has a net worth of roughly $200 million. In February, it was revealed that Rogan had signed a new deal multi-year deal with Spotify worth an estimated $250 million.
In February 2022, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek denounced the host’s use of racist language but said, “I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer.”
Dana White says he lost $3 million in one night at the casino in Las Vegas. White, the current…
Before the rise of Ronda Rousey and women’s mixed martial arts as a whole, there was Gina Carano. During…
UFC CEO Dana White shares his thoughts on the MMA greatest of all-time discussion. MMA has seen a wide…
Dana White is forever loyal to Joe Rogan. The longtime UFC commentator and popular podcaster made his promotional debut…
