There’s no doubting Dana White has done incredible things for UFC since becoming president in 2001 – but he’s certainly ruffled a few feathers along the way.
One person he has frequently come to verbal blows with is one of the sport’s most iconic fighters: Conor McGregor.
The Notorious has been instrumental to the success of UFC in recent years as it has gone toe-to-toe with boxing as the world’s most popular combat sports.
However, the outspoken Irishman’s decision to retire at the weekend certainly appeared to rub White up the wrong way.
McGregor announced his retirement from MMA for the THIRD time in four years– and the UFC chief will know how much damage that could do to the sport financially in the years ahead.
It is another significant setback for White, who has also had a well-documented fall out with Jon Jones in recent weeks.
In a furious outbust, Jones said he was walking away from his status as the UFC light heavyweight champion, though could be persuaded to come back for super fights.
Prior to the bust-up, he was in discussions about taking on hard hitting heavyweight Francis Ngannou, which collapsed, with White claiming Jones asked for ‘Deontay Wilder money’ to participate in the fight.
‘Bones’ vehemently denied White’s claims and branded him a liar, encouraging him to share text messages between the two to prove his point.
White has never been one to back down when his stars revolt and has been undeterred by Jones’ exit– and in light of the pair’s feud and McGregor’s ‘retirement’, talkSPORT looks at his other fall outs.
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Conor McGregor
Make no mistake, White was instrumental in The Notorious’ rise to the top of the sport.
But that’s not to say the pair haven’t had their disagreements.
When McGregor flat out refused to turn up to his pre-fight press conference ahead of his fight with Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 200 in 2016, White was not having it and immediately pulled him from the event.
The Irishman went on to have a full on meltdown and incredibly announced his retirement for the first time on social media.
Another feud between the pair began in 2018 after McGregor attacked a bus with Khabib Nurmagomedov inside.
Unsurprisingly, White was seething and immediately axed six fights from the calendar, claiming the incident was ‘the most disgusting thing that has ever happened in the history of the company.’
The former two-weight world champion then packed it in for the second time in April 2019 after the chastening defeat to Khabib six months earlier.
The plot thickened further when White admitted he had turned down McGregor’s request to have shares in UFC – though it is not known if McGregor was angry with his refusal.
“He’s stuck on this thing where he wants a piece of the ownership and that’s just [not going to happen],” White said last year. “I think there’s other ways we can make him happy.”
They appeared to make-up when McGregor made his long awaited return to the octagon in January 2020 after an 18-month absence and it could be another long wait for fans again before he’s back.
Georges St-Pierre
The Canadian is an undeniable great of the sport given the fact he held the welterweight title for half a decade – but his fight at UFC 167 left White absolutely furious.
The UFC chief was completely baffled by judges’ decision to award him the victory over Johny Hendricks in 2013, and his anger was made worse when the former retired without offering a rematch.
St-Pierre returned in 2017 and defeated Michael Bisping but instead of fighting Robert Whittaker – which was stipulated in his contract – he again walked away and vacated his belt.
White was seething and St Pierre’s career was as good as over.
“He came back, he hand-picked Bisping and then he went away again,” White angrily said. “So, whatever. It is what it is.”
It came as a surprise to nobody that St-Pierre was blocked from returning for a second time to fight lightweight champion Nurmagomedov last year.
The pair’s relationship has seemingly got better in recent years and GSP was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2020 last month.
Tyron Woodley
The American struck a bad chord with fans after he claimed he was the ‘worst treated champion’ in UFC’s history in January 2017.
This came just two days after he insisted his race was the reason he was treated differently to other MMA stars.
“Let’s put the cards on the table – real is real, if I was a different complexion, I think people and fans would treat me a different way,” he said.
White, to put it lightly, was not happy with his comments and accused the welterweight of boring fans after his points win against Demian Maia in 2017.
White said: “You ask fans if they want to see Woodley fight again, I think that’ll be a flat-out ‘no’, Who wants to pay to see Tyron Woodley fight again?”
It was pretty brutal from White – but it is believed pair’s relationship has got better in recent years.
Tito Ortiz
The feud between White and Ortiz goes back a long way and started as soon as the former was appointed UFC president in 2001.
White was actually Ortiz’s manager before taking up his role – which is why the fall out between the pair is seems to be very genuine.
Hall of Famer Ortiz was one of the sport’s early pioneers was also the light heavyweight champion in 2000 – refusing to fight Chuck Liddell for the title didn’t help either.
It all, allegedly, started on a private jet to Japan when Ortiz got White into a neck crank and refused to let go, although both parties offer different versions of the events.
The feud escalated so much that the pair even agreed to have a boxing match in 2007, until Ortiz pulled out after claiming he wasn’t promised financial reward from the bout.
White, though, has never failed to recognise his former friend’s achievements and in 2012, paid tribute to Ortiz when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“Everyone knows the story of me and Tito and all the things that went on between us.
“A lot of it wasn’t fun at the time, but all that controversy and craziness is now part of the story of the UFC, and there’s no question that in his prime he was a huge star and one of the greats of his era.
“You can’t write the story of this era of mixed martial arts without Tito Ortiz, and that’s why he belongs in the Hall of Fame.”