5 instances of Dana White privilege in the UFC

Dana White has been at the helm of the UFC for over 20 years. As the promotion's president and public face of its authority, he has had to make countless amounts of difficult decisions throughout his career as an MMA promoter. Sometimes, this leads to clashes with some of his fighters.

He infamously feuded with former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, with the pair once agreeing to a boxing match to settle their differences. But for every fighter who despises him, there are those who love him. Furthermore, there are fighters to whom Dana White has shown significant favoritism.

This led former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson to accuse three-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler of receiving Dana White privilege, a play on the societal phenomenon known as white privilege.

With that in mind, this list looks at five different recipients of favoritism from Dana White.

#5. Randy Couture, former UFC heavyweight/light heavyweight

The public dispute between Randy Couture and the UFC is well-known. Dana White does not think highly of the former titleholder and the feeling is mutual.

However, there was a time when things were different. Back in 2006, 'The Natural' lost to Chuck Liddell via second-round KO.

Jan11.2007

Randy Couture announces he's coming out of retirement,

to challenge Tim Sylvia for the UFC Heavyweight title https://t.co/8fzm5DoKi1

After his loss, the Greco-Roman wrestling great sat out for an entire year in retirement and upon his return was rewarded with an undeserved title shot, coming off a loss. Worse still, the title fight was at heavyweight, a division that 'The Natural' hadn't been a part of in five years at the time.

As history remembers it, the title fight ended in Couture's favor as he emerged victorious to become the oldest champion in the promotion's history. It was perhaps the last moment of Couture's career when he received an opportunity that perhaps no other fighter at the time would have received.

#4. Chael Sonnen, former UFC middleweight

Chael Sonnen is a well-known figure in MMA, whether his reputation stems from his time as a fighter or his current career as an analyst and podcaster. The former NCAA Division I wrestler has never been heralded for having an exciting fighting style. Instead, it was his trash talk that earned him attention.

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At UFC 148, he faced longtime rival Anderson Silva for the middleweight title. It was a highly anticipated rematch after the pair first squared off two years prior. Unfortunately, for 'The American Gangster', the legendary Brazilian beat him via second-round TKO.

In his subsequent bout, he was awarded with yet another title shot despite coming off a loss. Furthermore, his title shot came a year later in another division full of more worthy contenders. Regardless, he faced Jon Jones for light heavyweight gold but came up short as everyone expected.

#3. Michael Chandler, UFC lightweight

The only other lightweight who can potentially challenge Justin Gaethje for the title of being the promotion's most entertaining 155'er is Michael Chandler. Despite his success in the lightweight division from the entertainment side of things, 'Iron' has only won two of his five fights under Dana White's banner.

🚨Title fight🚨

Charles Oliveira🇧🇷(30-8) gets his shot at the now vacant 155 title against newcomer Michael Chandler🇺🇲(22-5) in the main event of UFC 262 on May 15th. Who's going to walk away with the belt?! #UFC https://t.co/334Sl8cPuS

The nature of his fights in the promotion has been noted by several fighters. Despite spending most of his career in Bellator, 'Iron' earned a title fight against Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title after just one win in the promotion. Furthermore, he didn't defeat a top-five fighter to do so.

He faced Dan Hooker, who was ranked the number-six fighter in the division and earned a crack at the 155 lbs throne after KO'ing him. Additionally, while countless people have campaigned for fights against Conor McGregor, he joins Nate Diaz as the only other UFC fighter to have successfully demanded the matchup.

#2. Colby Covington, UFC welterweight

Former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington is arguably the most polarizing figure in the world of mixed martial arts today. He has had an extremely successful run at the top of the promotion, even though he is yet to capture undisputed gold. That, however, isn't from a lack of trying.

The All-American has received two title shots in his career and is one of the few fighters to headline a PPV without being in a position to defend or challenge for a title. He did so recently after defeating former best friend Jorge Masvidal in a grudge match last year. Since then, 'Chaos' has been largely absent.

“(Colby Covington is) getting rewarded for not taking fights. When it was me, I got removed from the rankings. So this Dana White privilege is definitely real."

- Leon Edwards on The MMA Hour https://t.co/hsRWyimLy4

He made his return to MMA at UFC 286, where he served as a backup fighter for the main event. After Leon Edwards repeated his prior success by defeating Kamaru Usman for a second time, 'Chaos' was announced as the next title challenger.

The news comes despite him being inactive for an entire year and being on a one-fight win streak over a fighter who isn't even ranked in the top ten.

#1. CM Punk, former UFC welterweight

It's easy to understand why Dana White welcomed CM Punk into the fold back in 2014. The news came as a shock to many due to the latter's complete lack of combat sports experience. Furthermore, fans everywhere noted that he had no martial arts background to speak of.

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Regardless, he signed with the promotion and was matched up against the least experienced opponent that the UFC could find. To his misfortune, even Mickey Gall was too experienced for him. The former WWE star was given an opportunity that proven fighters like Ben Askren were deprived of for years.

More than that, however, he was given an absurdly high spot at UFC 203 as his matchup with Gall was the third-last fight of the evening right below the co-main event. This is unheard of for a fighter making their professional MMA debut.