Dana White and POTUS Donald Trump will reportedly host a pre-fight dinner the night before the much-anticipated UFC White House card. The CEO has made headlines for making some bold claims over the years, but these proposed plans might have prompted him to make his boldest one yet.

Dana White is truly convinced that fighters are different from any other athletes in the world. “You guys are different. There is no other people on earth like you,” the CEO said during his appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, hosted by former champions Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo. With the rise of MMA, especially UFC, in the mainstream, and fighters getting featured in movies and TV shows, White is convinced that fighting is what people want to see.

“The world championship football player, the world championship basketball player, it’s not the same. It’s about who you are and how you are built. Movies, sports, world leaders, they are all watching you,” Dana White further stated. While taking aim at the NBA, he added, “Everybody’s watching. The actors, the greatest athletes in the world. World leaders aren’t watching the NBA game on Wednesday night. They are watching the fight on Saturday night.”

It’s understandable that mixed martial arts has become one of the biggest things in the 21st century. But Dana White’s statement did not convince the fans. They responded to him by laying out certain obvious facts about the NBA, since that’s the league the UFC CEO took a swipe at.

Fans slam Dana White for his ‘world leaders’ claim

One of the biggest things that has been plaguing the MMA scene, especially in the UFC, is that fighters don’t get paid as much as in other sports. Fans reminded Dana White that he may believe that people love watching UFC fights, but the fighters’ paychecks do not come close to the multi-million-dollar contracts that NBA players have. On that note, one fan asked on Instagram, “What are they paying their stars again?” Another fan wrote, “NBA makes more money.”

Then again, the UFC’s business practices and fighter management operations also came into question. An Instagram user wrote, “The NBA is properly paying their players.” For context, the NBA splits 50% of BRI (Basketball-Related Income) with the players.

The fans also slammed Dana White about his claims about world leaders, expressing their doubts that UFC is the sport of choice. “World leaders? Meaning Trump, maybe Putin, maybe Trudeau. Willing to bet the vast majority aren’t watching lol he didn’t cook the way he thought he did,” one fan wrote.

Fair criticism, to be honest. White once infamously claimed that soccer was the sport that required the least talent. Well, if Dana White looked at the attendees list for the FIFA World Cup final in 2022, he’d see that his friend Elon Musk, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, and undefeated UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov were all at the Lusail Stadium.

Well, everybody is catering to their own communities, and as such, a fan said, “nobody cares about what world leaders are watching.” But why is Dana White talking about world leaders? Fans suspect something’s going on behind the scenes, with one Instagram user writing, “No wonder it’s rigged now,” while another said, “Yes, I’m sure all the ethical world leaders are just such big fans of the UFC. It makes a total sense.”

Dana White may be making efforts to raise the level of interest in the UFC White House event next year. It’s important to hype up before he sits down with the matchmaking team and sets up the fights. After all, he’s reportedly got some political figures attending the event. Regardless, what do you make of his comments about MMA being the biggest sport in the world? Drop your thoughts below.