As one of the most influential figures in MMA history for years, UFC president Dana White is asked for plenty of opinions.
Frequently, he’s asked to comment on things outside his combat sports day job. We get his MMA feedback all the time. This space will let you into his head for matters outside the sport.
After Dana White’s Contender Series 49 on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, White weighed in on a recent concert he attended, as well as recent controversies involving his friends Donald Trump and Mike Tyson.
Check out White’s opinions on some key non-MMA topics below.
Red Hot Chili Peppers' Las Vegas concert
White long has been friends with Anthony Kiedis, the lead singer of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis has attended countless UFC shows, and typically is in the building for the first fight. The Peppers even have played a surprise show at the UFC’s employee holiday party in the past.
The Chili Peppers currently are on the North American leg of a world tour in support of their latest album, “Unlimited Love,” which came out in April and debuted at No. 1 in the U.S. – making it the band’s first No. 1 album in 16 years. This past week, they played Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, and White was in attendance.
White's critique of the Chili Peppers in Vegas
“I was a little disappointed, to be honest with you,” White said. “They played a lot of the new stuff, not a lot of old stuff. (There were) a lot of sound problems. I do think (Allegiant Stadium) was too big, too. It felt too big for that one. I saw Billy Joel there, and Billy Joel’s setup was bigger. Obviously, the Peppers had way more people there than Billy Joel did. That place was packed to the rafters. It was insane. But I’ve seen the Peppers like 20 times, so I’ve seen some pretty badass shows. I felt like for selling 46,000 seats, they should’ve really ripped that f*cking place apart on Saturday night, and I don’t feel like they did.”
FBI's Monday raid of Donald Trump's home in Florida
Former president Donald Trump had his Mar-A-Lago compound in Florida raided Monday by the FBI, which seized a reported 11 boxes of documents that reportedly were classified and were mishandled.
In a case like that, the FBI would need a search warrant, which would have to be approved by a judge who says there is probable cause that a crime has been committed. A search warrant of that type would be filed under seal, so details in what was presented to a judge are not known to the public.
White and Trump have been friends since White’s early days in the UFC, and White has been a multitime speaker at the Republican National Convention on Trump’s behalf.
White's response to Trump's latest legal troubles
“It’s madness, man. The whole world is crazy right now. I don’t know what to think, and I don’t know enough about it, and I haven’t talked to him. I’ve only seen bits and pieces on the news, so I don’t know exactly what’s going on. But I’ll probably call him in the next couple days. I didn’t want to call him. I’m sure he’s got better f*cking things to do than for me to call and say, ‘Hey, what’s going on over there?’ But I will talk to him in the next couple days.
“I don’t even know what to say. I don’t even know what to think about any of that stuff because I don’t know enough about it. Without getting political, without getting into all this f*cking bullsh*t, there’s 10 other people’s houses that probably should’ve been raided (by the FBI) before his that haven’t happened. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.”
Mike Tyson's public spat with Hulu
Mike Tyson went public earlier this week about his unhappiness with Hulu.
The streamer will debut the miniseries “MIKE,” based on his life, Aug. 25. Tyson claims he never gave permission for its creation. In a series of tweets, Tyson expressed his disdain and praised UFC president Dana White for declining to be part of it.
White said the UFC was on the verge of a deal with Hulu to promote the show until he caught wind of longtime friend Tyson’s displeasure.
White's response to the Tyson-Hulu dustup
“So we did a deal, or were about to do a deal, were on the verge of a deal with Hulu to promote this Mike Tyson unauthorized biography, or whatever it is. Craig Borsari, my head of production, came to me and said, ‘Hey, I’m hearing that Tyson isn’t happy about this thing.’ So I called Mike and I said we’re in a deal with these guys – we have a verbal (deal) to do this deal with them. And he said, ‘Dana, they’re f*cking me,’ and that’s all I had to hear. I said, ‘I’m out, then. I’ll squash this deal.’ So I killed the deal and I told him that it was over and I killed it and we won’t be promoting that show for Hulu. Then he did what he did.”
White's full post-DWCS 49 news conference
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