UFC CEO Dana White is well-known for his candid remarks about the media, but during a press conference after UFC 312 in Australia, he let loose like never before. Towards the end of the conference, a question was posed regarding an op-ed by Sydney Morning Herald reporter Bevan Shields, which discussed the perceived close relationship between White and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns. White did not hold back in expressing his views on the Australian media.
“Holy f*cking sh*t. You guys have to have the biggest p*ssies of all time in the media here, just for the record,” White responded, mocking Shields’ claim that he felt “physically sick” witnessing the rapport between White and Minns on a recent podcast.
When a reporter inquired whether he had reservations about placing controversial American fighter Sean Strickland in the main event—who had recently criticized Australia’s gun reform by stating, “You had one mass shooting and gave up all your guns, that was kind of pathetic”—White reiterated his commitment to free speech. He stated, “Everyone knows my stance on this, we’re going to take guys and girls that say and do a lot of things. I’m a big believer in free speech, and it probably seems worse when you come here because your media are such weak human beings. I thought we had weak media; you guys win hands down.”
When asked if he had received any feedback from the Australian government about Strickland’s comments, White responded negatively, sharing how he and Strickland were amused by the op-ed before the fight, declaring, “We were reading the story in the back and cracking up at that guy. That guy has gotta be the biggest f*cking wimp on planet earth. Even your people know that your f*cking media are weak. They even know, they know it. You know it. We all know it now. I didn’t know. Now I know.”
