Criticisms of the UFC over poor matchmaking, boring cards, and allowing MMA to become more like boxing seem to be gaining steam with each passing day. And at the center of this media storm is UFC boss Dana White. Curiously, the bossman has been missing in action since the last fight night.
In light of this, questions are being asked if White is pondering calling it a day. While the bossman is currently so synonymous with the product that he is practically the face of the promotion, allegations of him slipping at his job have been brewing for some time.
So, when former UFC fighter Josh Thomson opened up his Weighing In podcast to audience questions, one fan straight up asked if the promotional leader was hanging up his proverbial gloves and making a seamless transition for whoever walks a mile in his shoes next.
At this point, the conclusion Thomson and co-host Angelo Bordetti could come up with was that the boss was definitely not as committed to the UFC as he used to be a few years ago.
“He’s definitely phoning it in. Without a doubt, he’s phoning it in,” Bordetti said, adding, “I don’t know if he’s retiring. There also might be some weird contractual obligation that he has to stay there. He no longer owns that company, right?”
Bordetti argues that there might be some weird contractual obligation that dictates White being there at the forefront of the UFC, especially with a new TV deal coming up.
However, Bordetti does admit that White has “9,000 side projects” and was certainly not all in anymore.
“I don’t know if he’ll retire, maybe just losing interest, because the side projects are there and he’s done this for so long,” he argued. Bordetti also claimed that White’s absence would be explained by the UFC Chief Business Officer, Hunter Campbell, taking on bigger responsibilities.
“Hunter Campbell has stepped up. He’s able to do most of it. And now Dana can just be a normal human being. Because that dude, love him or hate him and all the drama and all the negativity around different narratives,” Bordetti argued.
“That dude carried the sport on his back for years, just doing everything possible to build it up and now it’s finally built and, maybe he’s just taking a deep breath,” he further added.
Meanwhile, Thomson argues that White’s children are all grown up. His eldest, Aidan, is now playing college football, and Thomson believes White is simply making time for them to be there for their big moments.
While the UFC boss is yet to comment on his recent absence, earlier this year, he had explained his retirement plans to conservative commentator Tucker Carlson on his podcast.
White’s Bob Arum inspiration
Even though he looks unfavorably at boxing promoters and has been publicly dismayed at the way he claims they conduct business, White cited Top Rank CEO Bob Arum as an example he intends to follow in his professional career.
“I hate him, he’s an asshole, but Bob Arum, the boxing promoter… I’m at the [Las Vegas] Aces WNBA game — it’s 9 o’clock at night and he’s sitting over there courtside. I’m like holy shit Bob Arum is here, this is crazy, this guy’s 94 years old,” he told Carlson in February.
“I s*it you not, two days later I’m watching a fight, Bob Arum is in Saudi Arabia ringside at a boxing event. Two days later, he’s in London at a press conference. He’s 94 years old,” the UFC boss reiterated with grudging respect.
Citing Arum’s example, White further said that he was busy building new brands and loving it.
And as far as leaving the UFC, the bossman noted that he had the perfect opportunity to do so in 2016, when he sold the company for a little over $4 billion.
“When we sold in 2016, 99 percent of the people said that I was going to retire and walk away. I’m not wired like that,” he said, asserting, “I will never retire. Ever. I will keep dogging this out until the day I drop dead. I love it, 100 percent. Hopefully.”
Well, that seems to be a rather satisfactory answer!
