"Dana White is not the UFC" - Ariel Helwani reacts to fans' upheaval at White's gift to Nelk Boys' Kyle Forgeard

Dana White (L) Ariel Helwani (R) [Images via @danawhite & @arielhelwani on Instagram]

In the latest edition of the On The Nose segment with Ariel Helwani, the longtime MMA journalist gave his take on Dana White's gift to Nelk Boys member Kyle Forgeard.

For Forgeard's birthday, White gifted him $250,000 cash in a plastic bag. Forgeard shared this on his Twitter, and it caused quite a stir amongst fans and fighters. While Helwani said the outrage was justified, he also defended White, saying:

"A lot of people very upset about that, and I'd imagine rightfully so. My big takeaway was like the whole thing was just... his look was creepy... it's a bizarre thing. The thing is, Dana White is not the UFC. Like the guy has his own money, right? He's allowed to do whatever he wants with his money, he could go buy eight lamborghinis. So I don't think you can critize him for it. It's just bizarre, like give the kid a nice watch."

Uncle @danawhite just gave me $250,000 for my birthday.. https://t.co/noH34JF8zY

Helwani's characterization of the gift being bizarre is fitting, as it's not every day you're handed a plastic bag containing a quarter of a million dollars for your birthday. It was also interesting that Helwani partially defended White, considering the history between the two. Helwani did go on to call it a "weird look," citing how there are many examples of UFC champions being underpaid:

"There's no doubt that it's a weird look like if you're a UFC fighter, especially a champion who's not making that much. A Deiveson Figuerido. I mean we could go Figuerido we could go Carla Esparza we can go Valentina Shevchenko... we can even go Mr. Francis Ngannou who's not even making a million dollars for his fights. You can watch that and be like 'golly this is a little bit weird.' "

Watch the segment and full episode below:

Ariel Helwani: Dana White "far removed from reality"

Helwani also revealed in his latest segment that he still doesn't hold the UFC president in the highest regard. Helwani's major takeaway from Dana White's exuberant gift is that he is essentially in his own world. He added that another element that made the exchange between White and Forgeard strange is the age disparity between the two:

"My takeaway was, are these people so far removed from reality that they think that this is like a nice gift for someone?... Also, like, a 50 something year old guy giving (the money) to a 20 year old something kid?"

With Folgeard being 28 and White being 52, Helwani is correct in that they aren't the most likely of friends. That said, Dana White and the Nelk Boys have been friends for a while now, with them even gifting him a custom Maybach Howler Head van in the past.

.@stevewilldoit built me a custom Maybach Howler head VAN!! @nelkboys https://t.co/mAgsdsswLm