UFC boss Dana White has told people to mind their "f****ng business" after being criticised for gifting YouTube prankster Kyle Forgeard $250,000 on his birthday.
Forgeard is one of the founders of YouTube prank group Nelk Boys. The group, who have over one billion views on YouTube, have become increasingly involved with the UFC in recent years and are often cageside for pay-per-view events. One of their presenters was recently slapped by UFC veteran Nate Diaz whilst backstage at an event earlier this month.
White made sure to be there for Forgeard's 28th birthday and also got him a jaw-dropping gift of $250,000 wrapped in a plastic bag. Forgeard was "in shock" at the gift and labelled White as the "best f****ng mentor/friend" ever. The gift didn't go down well with fans as many said White should focus on paying his fighters more before handing money out to YouTube stars.
The UFC boss has defended the gift by stating he can spend his money however he wants. "Let me set this record straight. First of all, all these people on the internet, go f*** yourselves. Ok. I spend my money however the f*** I want to spend my money. Mind your own f****ng business," he said.
“No. 2, if you look at what Kyle and the Nelk Boys have done as far as how they’re handling and a lot of other things that they’ve done, those kids have never asked me for anything, ever. They’ve never asked me for anything, and they couldn’t be better people. Kyle has done so many things for me. Believe me, the $250,000 that I gave him for his birthday, it does not cover the amount of things that kid has done for me.”
What are your thoughts on Dana White gifting the YouTube star $250,000? Let us know in the comments section below
The UFC has come under fire in recent years for fighter pay issues, with the minimum guaranteed purse currently being $12,000. Revenue split in the promotion has also been a controversial topic, with fighters taking around 18 per cent of the revenue made from the promotion each year, which is considerably less than the 50 per cent split that athletes in the NFL and NBA receive.
White's gift divided the opinions of his fighters with top bantamweight Sean O'Malley defending his boss, reiterating White's comments that the money was out of his own pocket. Former UFC title challenger Dan Hardy had a different take, stating that White should gift all of the top-15 ranked fighters in the promotion $250,000 for their next birthday as well.
