UFC boss Dana White has never had the friendliest relationship with the media. It’s easy to understand why. The UFC is a relatively new phenomenon in sports. White, for so long, had total control, and that meant he could pick and choose who covered his promotion and how.
Colin Cowherd welcomed White to his podcast this week and asked point blank if White thought that the UFC even needed the media.
White laughed, noting that he had been “combative” in the past saying that journalists are “full of shit.”
“It drives me crazy,” he said. “So I don’t read anything anymore.”
After the joking was done, White gave a more nuanced answer that suggests he is less a control freak about the way the UFC is covered. He is just guarded.
“I think we do need the media. The problem is today, here’s the problem today: determining who’s media and who’s not. Anybody who can create a f***ing website now considers themselves media. You know what I mean? Or if they have an Instagram they can become media. Most of these people are full of shit and have no place writing or talking about anything. But there are some real good media people out there still.”
It’s a good quote that certainly paints Dana White in a more positive light, but may not accurately reflect his true feelings. He has a feud with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that goes back years. Helwani is one of the most respected journalists that is devoted to covering the sport and he still draws White’s ire.
