"If you don't want any attention, you send on Bitcoin" - Cris Cyborg feels Dana White gifting 250k cash to Kyle Forgeard from Nelk Boys may have been to attract media attention
Cris Cyborg has offered her views on the recent controversy that saw Dana White gift Kyle Forgeard of the Nelk Boys $250,000 for his birthday.
The former UFC women's featherweight champion has long been regarded as one of the greatest female mixed martial artists in the history of the sport. During her tenure with the UFC, her relationship with White grew sourer as time passed.
Sitting down to discuss the viral video with James Lynch in a recent interview, Cyborg claimed that the gift was an attempt to gain media attention. She feels fighters are understandably upset about the situation:
"Hey, how sweet gift it is... He [Dana White] has money, he's had a lot of money, so he does whatever he wants... But, I believe, if you don't want any attention, you send on Bitcoin... For sure it's for attention, for social media and the people who ask like me... Probably a lot of fighters are maybe upset because they know how much they make fighting, working hard, training 10 weeks straight, losing weight, and they see the money they make."
Cris Cyborg wasn't the only star to mention the video, with a large number of current and former UFC competitors speaking out against White. However, some have shown support for the huge MMA figure.
Check out what the Bellator women's featherweight champion had to say about the gift in the video below:
Fighters' reaction to Dana White's gift to Kyle Forgeard
Dana White is never too far away from controversy, whether it's fueled by himself or a problem with one of his athletes. What should have been a simple present for a friend turned into something big when the video went viral.
Defending the UFC president, Darren Till gave his take on the $250,000 gift, insisting it's nobody's business and stating "friends look after friends" in a now-deleted post on Twitter.
In an opposing response, Dan Hardy asked fans to 'retweet' if they believed White should treat his employees better and give the same amount of money to his higher-ranked fighters.
Retweet if you think Uncle Dana should give all of the UFC’s top 15 ranked fighters $250,000 for their next birthday. twitter.com/kyleforgeard/s…
Sean O'Malley, Aljamain Sterling, and Chael Sonnen all weighed in on White's relationship with the Nelk Boys, sharing unique views on the matter.