Dana White 'broke rules' and went against instructions to sign this UFC Nashville fighter who now has a 'life-changing' deal
While Dana White is known as one of the strictest bosses in the business, the UFC head honcho does bend his own rules once in a while. White once broke a rule, resulting in life-changing consequences for UFC flyweight Jake Hadley.
Hadley, who recently competed at UFC Nashville, was brought into the promotion by Dana White against all advice. The Birmingham native recently thanked the promotion for changing his life while revealing that he now has an even better contract.
Hadley told Daily Star in the lead-up to UFC Nashville:
"This new deal is life changing for me in terms of money and the UFC have already changed my life - it's going to continue to get better. What I'm getting paid, I'm very happy. They've upped my money and gave me a ranked fight on the back of it before the change of opponent."
He added:
"I've spoken to him over texts and in London, but hopefully I can see him again after this fight and say thanks for another bonus."
Jake Hadley faced short-notice replacement Cody Durden on the prelims card at UFC Nashville after his scheduled opponent Tagir Ulanbekov withdrew. 'White Kong' went to drop a unanimous decision against the veteran after going toe-to-toe in a fast-paced affair.
Cody Durden had a great fight with Jake Hadley, great performance by Durden he looked phenomenal in there
Jake had his moments but Cody was always one step ahead
Cody Durden won via U DEC pic.twitter.com/UJsbQGcSxF
When Dana White decided to sign Jake Hadley
Jake Hadley went 7-0 as a professional to earn himself a shot at DWCS in October 2021. While Hadley went to score a submission win over Mitch Raposo, 'White Kong' failed to make weight for the matchup.
According to Dana White, he was also instructed against signing Hadley as the latter had behavior issues. However, Hadley went on deliver a stunning stoppage and pleaded with White from inside the octagon to give him a contract.
Dana White had a gut feeling about Hadley that made him sign the Birmingham fighter. White said about the signing:
"When I left the back room, my instructions were to not sign this guy. I just have a gut feeling that this kid has something special and I broke all my own rules and didn’t listen to what they said, so hopefully I’m right on this and this kid doesn’t make a d***head out of me."
Dana White says that he was instructed not to sign Jake Hadley after their meeting and that Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby stormed out of the APEX when he did.
White says that he broke all of his own rules and that hopefully he is right.