Dana White admitted he was "p***ed off" at Clay Guida after the UFC veteran faked retirement to get a post-fight interview.
Guida, 41, lost a decision to Rafa Garcia in his latest fight at UFC Kansas City this past weekend and hinted at retirement by taking his gloves off after the fight. 'The Carpenter' then revealed he wasn't retiring and only "tricked" the crowd to congratulate Garcia on his win, also using his time on the microphone to send a happy birthday message to his mother who was in attendance.
“I tricked you guys,” Guida said to the crowd. “There ain’t no way I’m walking away yet. I want to congratulate this young man Rafa Garcia and I want to ask Rafa Garcia to trade gloves with me because that was a heck of a performance by him. There are some very special people in attendance right now, Momma Guida, it's her birthday."
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White was not impressed with Guida for faking retirement after his defeat to Garcia, admitting the UFC veteran's decision disrupted the live broadcast of their event. “That p***ed me off actually, to be honest with you,” White said when asked by reporters including Mirror Fighting about Guida’s post-fight interview.
“No, that pissed me off. I like him [Guida], he’s a nice guy, but you’re faking your retirement so you can say f****** happy birthday to somebody? We’re running a live event here. I was not happy about that. He was saying happy birthday to somebody or something. That was not good.”
Guida has been fighting in the UFC since 2006 and has 35 bouts for the promotion under his belt, with many fans coming to the 40-year-old's defence after White criticised him. "Clay has been in some wars for the company, give him his time in the spotlight," one user wrote. "I mean, he is a 40-year-old guy, outmatched, who stood in for three full rounds of getting his face caved in for the benefit of the show. I'd cut him some slack," another added.
Guida wasn't the only fighter to fake retirement at last weekend's event, as Bill Algeo trolled the Kansas City crowd by also taking his gloves off after beating TJ Brown only to announce he wasn't retiring. UFC veterans Zak Cummings and Ed Herman did actually retire after their fight in a shocking double retirement.
