Dana White is a master at spitting out loud soundbites and making viral announcements. The guy is a headline factory, which may explain why he gets so angry when he sees MMA news sites turn his perfectly crafted stories into basic clickbait.
The latest fake news White is trying to fix? That he was still looking for Conor McGregor to fight Michael Chandler when “The Notorious” returns to the UFC in 2023. Funny enough, this story got some legs after ESPN producer Charlie Moynihan tweeted “And @TheNotoriousMMA next fight is probably against @MikeChandlerMMA.” ESPN is usually pretty solid when it comes to this sort of thing, so everyone got the story.
This upsets Dana White.
“I never said that, never fucked up once,” White told MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin during the UFC 282 post-fight press conference. you do interviews and people listen to your interviews.”
“They said, ‘So if Conor McGregor came back now, who would you be looking at as an opponent? I said, “Well, if he did, if that happened and that scenario was playing out right now, Chandler would be a fun fight.” I never once said Conor McGregor against Chandler. I don’t even know when Conor McGregor will be back. And that’s why I don’t like to answer these kinds of questions. Because some fucking idiot somewhere on the internet says that’s what I said, and that’s not even close to what I said.
While at first glance it looks like White did indeed pitch Chandler as a fun fight for McGregor’s comeback, it’s important to note White’s use of deflect tactics in his responses. When he says “That would be a fun fight”, that doesn’t mean the fight is planned or in the books. Just like when he says “it makes sense” that a certain fighter would get a title shot with a win, that doesn’t mean he actually will. It would make sense. Note White’s complete lack of commitment in this statement.
Ultimately, it’s up to MMA reporters and content creators to be on top of White’s lingo so that false promises aren’t splintered and propagated. Generally we say that unless it’s a full quote from White, don’t believe it.
#Dana #White #takes #McGregor #Chandler
