Dana White reacts to Kayla Harrison revealing pre-UFC 307 health complications: "It's like the NFL every Sunday"
Dana White has just offered his thoughts on Kayla Harrison's recent health-related issues prior to her UFC 307 win over Ketlen Vieira. At a DWCS post-fight press conference, a reporter asked the UFC CEO for his take on Harrison's pre-fight health struggles, which included blood in her urine.
While Harrison's account of her ordeal did not paint a positive picture, White was unconcerned. Instead, he merely wishes he had been told ahead of time. He said:
"Listen, if somebody is hurt and shouldn't compete, they should absolutely come to us and tell us. But, the truth of the matter is, it's like the NFL every Sunday, these athletes always have something going on. What was her deal? Why was she [Kayla Harrison] peeing blood?"
When told that it wasn't clear why, White was quick to remind the media members in attendance of how frequently fighters are either hurt or otherwise compromised ahead of their fights.
"I mean, these are things... we were just talking a few weeks ago. You asked me about Sean's [O'Malley] hip and after the fight the other night, a broken toe and popped cartillage. I mean, you've got to assume that every Saturday, if you look at how many athletes are on the card, they're not going in there feeling [great]," White added.
Check out Dana White's thoughts on Kayla Harrison's health issues (20:44):
While it isn't exactly clear whether her issue was related to her weight cut, Harrison did confess to having a difficult time making the bantamweight limit.
Dana White and Kayla Harrison had other obstacles around UFC 307
At UFC 307, Kayla Harrison authored a convincing but unremarkable win over Ketlen Vieira. It was not the dominant display she had expected, but it quickly took a backseat to her former promotion, the PFL, mocking her by accusing her of fleeing from a rematch with Larissa Pacheco and a fight with Cris Cyborg.
When taking questions at the UFC 307 post-fight press conference, Dana White was asked about the PFL's denigration of their former fighter, and the UFC CEO laughed their tactics off.
"I think when you're losing as much money as they [the PFL] are, f***ing go for it. F***ing throw the kitchen sink at it. This guy just came out recently and said, 'You know, we're going to spend more money than they [the UFC] did on The Sphere.' That sounds f***ing brilliant. How many tickets are you going to sell? They're not very bright."
Check out Dana White dismissing the PFL (8:19):