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Dana White won’t tell his fighters what they should or shouldn’t say, and it turns out he applies that same rule to himself.
During an appearance on comedian Theo Von’s podcast, the UFC CEO revealed that a major UFC sponsor attempted to censor him after he made a video post supporting former president Donald Trump. Of course, White has called Trump a friend for many years and even spoke on his behalf at the 2016 Republican National Convention prior to his election.
“I posted a video for Trump on my personal social media,” White said. “One of our big sponsors called and said, ‘Take that down.’ You know what I said? Go f*** yourself.
“You vote for whoever you want to vote for and I’ll vote for whoever I want to vote for. That’s how this works. I don’t even care who you’re voting for. It’s none of my f****** business. F*** you. Don’t ever f****** call me and tell me who to vote for.”
While Trump took center stage in that particular showdown, White says the same goes for any sponsor that works with the UFC and the content the promotion produces.
Thanks to the UFC’s success and the company continuing to produce record revenues quarter after quarter, not to mention a booming relationship with sponsors, White can now pick and choose who he wants to work with.
“I’m at a point now in my life and my career where I want to be with people that I’m aligned with,” White explained. “It’s not just about the money. It is about the money because it’s a sponsorship deal, but it’s not just [about the money]. I’m not going to take a bigger offer if it’s not something that I am aligned with and I don’t 100 percent believe in.
“When you do a sponsorship deal with somebody, you have to look deep into who they are and who’s running the company, who’s making the decisions, and are you aligned?”
White also fired back at continued criticism over the UFC inking a multi-year sponsorship deal to partner with Bud Light starting in 2024.
Over the past year, Bud Light has been at the center of attention after the beer company engaged in a social media promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. In response, conservatives — particularly commentators and celebrities — attempted to cancel the brand by demanding a boycott, causing Bud Light sales to plummet as a result.
Bud Light also faced additional criticism after failing to support Mulvaney after she was subjected to harassment and transphobia from taking part in the social media campaign.
Defiant as ever, White lashed out at anybody attempting to target the UFC for partnering with Bud Light, especially if the center of their focus only stems from issues surrounding a social media campaign with Mulvaney.
“It’s like this whole Bud Light deal. People are talking s*** now, sellout and all this,” White said. “Believe me, I’m the furthest f****** thing from a sellout. Bud Light is the right move for me. They’re exactly who I want to be with right now and we are very aligned as far as core values go.
“Sixty-five thousand Americans they employ. That right there should be enough. Sixty-five thousand Americans are employed there. Why would you want to put a bullet in that brand off of one f****** thing? How about you go back and look at all the good things they’ve done and where they really stand and what they believe in. They take care of veterans. They take care of veterans’ families and first responders’ families who have fallen. The list just goes on and on. Almost a billion dollars a year with U.S. farmers. That alone is the reason you should be drinking f****** Bud Light. I look deeper than just f******, ‘Oh they did this f****** can with whoever.’ I don’t give a s*** about that. They’re showing right now that they’re coming with me and they want to be aligned with me.”
White promises that he’s proud of the partnership that the UFC is building with Bud Light, and if anybody has a problem with that, they’ll get the same message as the sponsor who told him to take down his social media post about Trump.
“Those are you that are hardcore, some of you are fanatical on this s***,” White said. “You guys think you’re all looking for an apology. I’m not going to f****** apologize to you.”
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