That was the case for Dana White on Saturday night. Toyota Center was the setting for UFC Houston. In the evening’s main event, Sean Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) finished Anthony Hernandez (15-3, 1 NC MMA, 9-3 UFC) with a third-round knockout with a knee to the body and follow-up shots.
Strickland’s week was filled with controversial comments until the end. On Wednesday, at UFC Houston’s media day, the victorious half of the main event made crude comments about Bad Bunny, who headlined the Super Bowl LX halftime show two weeks ago tonight, using an offensive slur to describe him.
Sean Strickland gets mic muted, Dana White discusses Strickland’s comments
Despite a very cordial post-fight interview with Michael Bisping on Saturday night and Strickland asking Anthony Hernandez to join him as he spoke, the story changed when he came backstage and met the press. A member of the UFC PR department informed Sean Strickland that his time on stage had expired.
After continuing with his comments, Sean Strickland’s microphone was abruptly silenced. Strickland’s comments came moments after the UFC CEO took members of the media to task for what happened earlier this week.
“It’s a nightmare,” Dana White said in reference to Strickland’s comments Wednesday. “You guys aren’t helping, by asking him stupidly (expletive removed.) ‘Ask him stupidly (censored), you’re going to be stupid (censored.) ‘What did you think of Bad Bunny?’ “What did you think of the Super Bowl?” Get out of here. Are you kidding? When you talk about what Strickland says, you like to push buttons.”
Nothing new for Dana White or Sean Strickland
Press conferences like the one that took place last weekend backstage at the Toyota Center are now old-fashioned for both parties. Dana White will tell it like he sees it, and Sean Strickland will give his opinion on any topic.
With public figures in sports organizations, usually at press conferences, you get a scenario where the commissioner or CEO opens with a prepared statement prepared in advance, after which the floor is opened to questions from the assembled media. Dana White is the antithesis of that.
Unlike his contemporaries, the Roger Goodell and Adam Silver types of the world, the UFC CEO doesn’t follow any script. His methodology: shoot from the hip and make no apologies. This is what sets him apart from the commissioners of team sports competitions.
Final Thoughts: Dana White cannot be muzzled
If Roger Goodell or Rob Manfred were to go on stage during a press conference at a major event and say what Dana White said on the microphone last Saturday night, you can believe without a doubt that it would only lead to further questions. White is the same man who said that a few years ago that the UFC wouldn’t do what he considered woke.
When people think of MMA, besides competitors, one of the first names people think of is Dana White. When he takes the microphone for a press conference, he sends a message to the press: “This is my world. You just live in it.”
Even though the UFC PR department has put a stop to what Sean Strickland had to say on Saturday night, Dana White herself cannot be silenced. Don’t expect this to change anytime soon.
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