UFC President Dana White has always been an outspoken guy, and while his brash style of promotion has taken the UFC to unthinkable heights, it’s also caused some serious friction amongst his stable of fighters.
From Tito Ortiz to Jon Jones, many a UFC fighter has butted heads with Dana White, and we broke down the five craziest beefs between UFC fighters and their boss!
5. Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz was one of the first big superstars in the UFC before the sport and promotion really blew up. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” dominated the light heavyweight division for years until Chuck Liddell took his belt.
Before Ortiz even jumped ship to rival promotion Bellator, he and Dana White hated each other so much that White proposed a boxing match against his then-light heavyweight champion to settle their differences.
In fact, rumor has it the two did actually come to blows while in airplane years back, however, that story has never really been substantiated.
Ortiz was known for being the bad boy of the UFC and was a thorn in Dana White’s side throughout his entire UFC career.
To hear White tell it, Tito wanted no part of a boxing match with him, but with Ortiz now retired, the two seem to have buried the hatchet.
4. Jon Jones
As the greatest light heavyweight and possibly greatest fighter of all time, Jon Jones has irked Dana White more times than one can count.
But the buff fallout between the two has to be UFC 151. Jones’ original opponent Dan Henderson had gotten injured a week before the fight, and Chael Sonnen offered his services to fill in and fight Jones.
Jones refused to fight Sonnen on such short notice, which infuriated Dana White to the point where he actually ended up canceling the entire card, placing the blame squarely on Jones’ shoulders. Instead of simply rescheduling UFC 151, White just named the following PPV UFC 152 to spite Jones for not saving the card.
Oddly enough, Jones would go on to completely destroy Sonnen at UFC 159 not too much later, but by then the damage between Jones and Dana had been done. Their relationship hasn’t been the same ever since.
3. Conor McGregor
Dana White’s favorite employee has still felt the wrath of his anger despite being a cash cow for the promotion.
Specifically, when McGregor and his goons arrived in Brooklyn prior to UFC 223 and attacked a bus containing fighters competing on that card, White was red with rage.
Several fighters ended up being injured by broken glass windows and were forced off the card. Dana White was so mad he demanded McGregor be arrested for his actions, which is exactly what ended up happening.
Just goes to show that no one is untouchable when it comes to Dana White’s anger, no matter who you are or how big of a star.
2. Paul Daley
Welterweight slugger Paul Daley made quite the splash after two first-round knockouts to start his UFC career. But after a demoralizing loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 113, “Semtex” did the unthinkable by punching Koscheck after the fight had ended.
White was livid at the post-fight press conference. He excoriated Daley for the sucker punch and immediately threw the Briton out of the UFC.
It’s been eight years since that incident and Daley has never fought for the UFC again. Dana White sure can hold a grudge!
1. Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock is an MMA and UFC pioneer who helped carry the sport before it was even regulated. But that distinction hasn’t stopped him from feeling Dana White’s wrath.
Shamrock infamously sued White and the UFC and ended up losing big time. Being the kind of ruthless businessman White is, the UFC President sent a threatening message to Shamrock about coming after money he owed after losing the lawsuit.
White had so much contempt for Shamrock that he has made sure he will never be in the UFC Hall of Fame, despite Shamrock’s status as a pioneer of the sport and promotion.
One thing is for sure; don’t ever owe Dana White money. He can turn from businessman to mob boss at the drop of a dime. See the video above for proof!
