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5 Infamous clashes between Dana White and UFC fighters

Here are five times Dana White and fighters in the UFC had public feuds.

By Aakrit Sharma

Sep 9, 2023; Sydney, NSW, AUSTRALIA; UFC President Dana White speaks at a press conference after the
Sep 9, 2023; Sydney, NSW, AUSTRALIA; UFC President Dana White speaks at a press conference after the / Jasmin Frank-USA TODAY Sports
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Did George St. Pierre owe anything to the UFC and Dana White after UFC 167?

It is interesting, to say the least, that White had a strained relationship with arguably the best fighter of all time who defended his UFC welterweight championship for a record 9 times and then bagged another belt at 185 pounds in iconic fashion.

Between 2007 and 2013, Pierre was easily the biggest draw for the promotion and up until that point, White had nothing but respect for the active champ who was putting on dominant performances over the best in the division without fail.

It all came crashing down though, when Pierre fought Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. The fight was as close as it gets with many believing that Hendricks should've won, including White. When Pierre made it clear that he'll take a break, White was furious at the post-fight press conference, claiming that the champ owed a rematch to the company, the fans, and Johny Hendricks.

Despite White and the Fertitta brothers actively trying to persuading Pierre, we didn't see his comeback until 2017 when he challenged Michael Bisping for the middleweight championship. Pierre won and White expected him to unify the belts against Robert Whittaker, but the former welterweight champion vacated his title again and retired.

These events had a long-running impact on Pierre's and White's relationship as the UFC didn't allow the former to fight Oscar De De La Hoya who also happened to be Pierre's second favorite boxer of all time.

On top of that, the super fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov never happened because as per Pierre in the Valuetainment podcast, White lied to him that Nurmagomedov had already agreed to come out of retirement which was not the case.

Adding on to the same, Pierrer claimed that he has no hard feelings for White because he understands the promotion game but admitted that while he was active, there have been occasions where dealing with the President was not at all desirable for him.

White, on the other hand, has never denied Pierre his feathers but has always held his ground on what should've been the best move following UFC 167. Even in 2024, he claimed Kamaru Usman to be the greatest welterweight of all time and many fans called him out for outright ignoring Pierre in the conversation.

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