Three reasons why Dana White’s relationship with UFC fans is at an all-time low

UFC boss Dana White is responsible for all the nostalgia fuel combat sports fans need and get. White and his fight offerings have made the UFC a premier combat sports promotion, more so than others. However, it has not been without its shortfalls. Some of the shortfalls even irk fans to a limit.

Sure  — Dana White and Co. make the fight business conform to a structure  — unlike top-heavy boxing. Fighters do not chase fighters for years, and meaningful fights come out in short order. But the underlying process and sometimes the results do not sit well. There’s other factors, too. Good things get made, but at the cost of better things.

UFC litigation and practices are notoriously stingy with price offerings, camp and travel practices, and order of business. While White, Frank, and Lorenzo Fertitta made sweeping changes across the board, not all always fit well. Here is a look into some latest sloppy happenings why White’s relation with fans is at a current new low at this point, early into 2025.

3. No White Lie from the Great White Shark

What do fans know, if anything, of the UFC/MMA fight business? Nothing — that’s what; it’s an “eat what you kill” cutthroat business of land sharks. That’s per CEO Dana White, why he’s uniquely suited for the hectic role.

The veteran promoter is mostly right, and major publications agree. He joined the likes of Ari Emanuel (Endeavor), Mark Shapiro (TKO Group), and Nick Khan (WWE) on the ‘Most Influential People In Sports Business 2024’ list.

But then, White is also the twisty little shark who gets his way. He delivered on promised stuff a lot of times, but then again, sometimes he just swiveled to other things. Lately, he announced the UFC 316: “Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley 2” PPV event bantamweight doubleheader. It is some sweet stakes and sweet fights at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. However, it’s a title rematch nobody asked for!

Combat fans would rather have a Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall title unification news after 500 days of the Brit dragging a substitute hardware. UFC fandom had also asked for news on who lightweight entrant Ilia Topuria would face and if it was Islam Makhachev. As such, the disappointment was natural for them.

Fans have also felt bamboozled by such teases only to find ‘Power Slap’ news instead of fight cards. This kept happening for a larger stretch of the year from the UFC 295 PPV event to Jones’ return at UFC 309. While fans kept clamoring, White’s IG Live takeover would rather announce slap fighting or other ventures. No white lie, but no absolute truth to it either.

2. Bad for business

Ever since he debuted the Variety500 list for 2022, White propelled UFC into a premier promotion by all means. Most other rivals do not even compare, but not all UFC offerings stood the test of time equally. There has always been the consensus notion that top-heavy main cards do not fit well with the rest of the undercard offerings. Parts of the UFC 312 and UFC 313 PPV cards fell flat, and UFC 313 also had extreme technical difficulties. 

ESPN’s relation with UFC is on a slow-roll to a bad end. They aren’t happy with the PPV buys while UFC brass is not happy with the lack of technology and a stiffy pricing. Fans have often voiced that undercard lineups and PPV setups on ESPN+, Hulu SVOD, ESPN & ESPN Deportes are middling and often very forgettable. The return to UFC London recently was a measly affair with a lack of finishes.

The prelim card often goes decision-heavy, thus not interesting the fan-itch. UFC Vegas 104 was the first event in history to feature consecutive first-round KOs in a women’s MMA affair. Both happened during the prelim (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET) card. Otherwise, the convoluted WMMA pack is often mismatched when there are better fights to be made. That too for such stingy pricing!

Dana White’s UFC runs through its broadcasting contract in 2025. PPV buys for telecasts on ESPN 2 and EPSN+ have gone from $59.99 at launch to the current staggering $79.99 buy cost in 2023! But card quality has not always gone up. Cost control with bad setups…fans can easily connect the dots.

1. Shelving the talent pool

The campaign behind rising talents is also a big missing link for Dana White’s company. White often holds some names as the best of the best and suiting a preset narrative. However, the UFC boss has often left other names to dry.

UFC CBO Hunter Campbell, UFC matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard, along with White, often pushed names like the next big thing. But the next big thing often found itself at a hinge if it did not serve an agenda push. For example, fans have noticed a lack of push behind the surging contender Diego Lopes.

He had the promise of gold and even made championship weight as a PPV card title backup. In under 11 months, he reeled off 5-0 against Gavin Tucker, Pat Sabatini, Sodiq Yusuff, Dan Ige, and Brian Otega. It’s only recently that the Brazilian fighter got his crack at the vacant 145-pound crown. Yet, not a lot of media packages mention the Lobo Gym MMA fighter or his title opportunity.

Lopes always played the 2nd media fiddle to Lobo Gym’s then-top crop Alexa Grasso, but not anymore. If victorious at UFC 314, Lopes becomes another rising superstar from Brazil, following the likes of Charles Oliveira and Alex Pereira.

However, due to the lack of major hype, there is a chance that Lopes’ potential crowning moment becomes just another championship win, rather than a highly emotional one like when Brandon Moreno or Israel Adesanya first became champions.

There hasn’t been much of a push behind Ex-Bellator star Patricio “Pitbull” Freire; he debuts at UFC 314. Remember when the UFC promoted Michael Chandler before his UFC debut? He was all over the place. Why aren’t they giving the same attention to Pitbull, who has better accomplishments than Chandler.

Comparatively, the media push into Japan Top Team and RIZIN’s Kai Asakura was substantially greater. White even promised more collab with RIZIN talents in the future despite Asakura’s failed title bid. This has been a pattern with White that fans have noticed again and again. Barely into the scope of 2025 Q2, it has made White’s running with fans quite low. Things can really go downhill from here.

Related: 3 reasons Dana White could stop ‘Champ Champ’ trend