Dana White answers if UFC had discussions about handling Sean Strickland's recent comments
Dana White has always been a proponent of free speech and he revealed that there were no discussions regarding Sean Strickland's comments.
During the build-up to the UFC 297 event, the former middleweight champion made a lot of controversial comments when questioned by interviewers.
Strickland made comments regarding the LGBTQ community, which offended a lot of the members of said community. However, when a reporter asked Dana White if there were any discussions with sponsors regarding the comments, he replied saying:
"Zero."
Watch the interview below:
Canada is a very liberal state and the comments made by Sean Strickland were not very liberal-friendly. He criticized the LGBTQ community and the reporter who asked him the question. Despite the backlash he received from members of the community and certain media outlets, the UFC did not take any action against the fighter because of their policy of free speech.
The UFC president has always been very vocal about free speech for his fighters, which is something Strickland loves about the UFC, even calling it one of the last real American companies. The comments he made did not affect the fans who came out in numbers to support him, even chanting his name during his fight.
Canadian reporter questions Dana White about the homophobic comments made by Sean Strickland
Following the UFC 297 main event, Dana White, as is ritual, sat down with the media to talk about the event and answer any questions the media had. During the post-fight press conference, one reporter asked the UFC president about the homophobic and transphobic comments made by Sean Strickland in the build-up to the fight, and how White gave fighters a 'long leash'.
Here's what the UFC president had to say:
"I don't give anybody a leash, a leash? Free speech, you control what people say? Gonna tell people what to believe? I don't f***ing tell any other human being what to say, what to think and there's no leashes on any of them......Free speech brother, people can say what they want and they can believe whatever they want."
Watch the interview below:
Dana White's response made the reporter immediately move on from the question. The UFC president does not restrict any of his fighters from saying what they want. In Sean Strickland's case, it is this exact characteristic of not having a filter that fans love.