MMA media earns Dana White's wrath for "clickbait" on Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint Denis contract rumors
Dana White has vehemently criticized the MMA media, accusing them of spreading unfounded rumors about the contractual status of the upcoming bout between Dustin Poirier and Benoit Saint Denis.
Earlier today, 'The Diamond' caused a stir in the MMA community by declaring that the five-round lightweight co-main event against Saint Denis at UFC 299 had been canceled.
When contacted by combat sports journalist Brett Okamoto, the former interim UFC 155-pound champion responded with the following statement:
"There was no contractual agreement before the fight was announced, and we couldn't come to terms."
However, it seems that isn't the situation, as Poirier later tweeted to clarify the misunderstanding:
"Sorry folks, I jumped the gun, I couldn’t get a hold of my manager for a few days. I just spoke with him and Hunter. Misunderstanding on my part. Fight is on! See you March 9, Miami!!!"
Check out Dustin Poirier's X post below:
Meanwhile, the UFC CEO expressed strong displeasure at the whole situation and took an unusual approach by publicly sharing his text conversation with 'God of War' as evidence of the fight's confirmation on Instagram stories.
Subsequently, White specifically called out MMA reporter Guilherme Cruz for disseminating rumors:
"You media guys are such pieces of sh*t. Writing whatever clickbait you can to be first and not right. This is why NOBODY trusts or likes you."
Check out Dana White's posts below:
Following Poirier's initial tweet, Cruz shared a video from a recent interview with Daniel Woirin, Saint Denis' coach, in which he stated that they were unaware of the fight being confirmed when it was initially announced.
Brittney Palmer claims she got ghosted by Dana White following her retirement text
Brittney Palmer recently disclosed that Dana White ignored her after she texted him about her retirement.
The former UFC octagon girl served in the role from UFC 125 in January 2011 until UFC 296 last December. She announced her retirement after being named Ringcard Girl of the Year at the 15th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards.
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Palmer mentioned that the UFC CEO initially didn't respond to her text when she informed him about her retirement:
"I had actually tried to text him and tell him what I wanted to do, and he kind of just like didn’t respond. I wasn’t going to chase him. I was like, 'Dana, I need to talk to you for two minutes.' It was after Thanksgiving, and I just thought it would've been the right thing to do to let him know that I was planning on retiring. I didn’t hear back from him, so I was like, 'Well, I guess he’s going to have to find out at the award show.'"
Check out Brittney Palmer's comments below (16:42):