Dana White criticizes World Cup production, calls UFC second worst
Dana White, the head of the UFC, recently expressed strong criticism regarding the production quality of the FIFA World Cup final. His remarks, shared via an Instagram story, indicated that he now considers the World Cup production team to be the worst in sports, surpassing even his own organization’s previous missteps.
White had previously criticized his own production team for errors in identifying celebrities during UFC broadcasts. One notable instance involved champion boxer Shakur Stevenson being mistakenly identified as Oklahoma Thunder guard Jalen Williams. Another error saw former undefeated boxing champion Terence Crawford misidentified as rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Despite these past issues with UFC production, White stated that the mistakes observed during the World Cup final convinced him that the soccer tournament’s producers had reached a new low. He sarcastically questioned the World Cup producers, asking, “What do you guys do?”
White’s comments suggested that the World Cup production team had intentionally outdone the UFC‘s errors. He remarked, “You triple down today and just go, ‘F**k you Dana White, you’re not beating us! We’re the worst production team in the history of sports to ever show celebrities.’”
He continued by conceding, “You guys win. You guys f**ked up that flyover too! I’m not going to nitpick. I’m just giving you credit where credit is due. You guys absolutely f**king suck. We are the second worst.” This statement highlighted his belief that the UFC, despite its own issues, was now only the second-worst in terms of production quality.
The World Cup final, which saw Spain defeat Argentina 1-0, featured several production gaffes that drew White’s attention. One such incident involved a Fox Sports announcer, John Strong, mistakenly identifying actor Matt Damon as Brad Pitt during the broadcast. Fox Sports was the English-language broadcaster for the World Cup in the U.S., though White did not specifically name them in his critique.
Another significant issue that White referenced was a problem with the military flyover during the event. Reports indicated a timing discrepancy between Jennifer Hudson‘s performance of the national anthem and the appearance of the aircraft. Cameras reportedly focused on the sky for approximately 30 seconds while awaiting the jets. When the jets eventually appeared, they were reportedly off to the side of the stadium and went largely unnoticed by much of the crowd, as captured in an Instagram video by influencer Gabby Gonzalez.
The BBC broadcast of the final also reportedly had its own set of errors, including mislabeling Pharrell Williams as A$AP Rocky, and initially referring to him as “AKA Rocky.” These incidents contributed to White’s strong condemnation of the overall production.
White’s initial confidence that his own team was the absolute worst in the business was shaken by the World Cup final’s telecast. He had previously argued with his team, asserting that the UFC‘s production was inferior. However, after witnessing the World Cup‘s errors, he publicly stated, “I bow down. Congratulations to the producers of the World Cup. You guys win.”
The outcome of the match, with Spain‘s 1-0 victory over Argentina, also impacted UFC 329 headliner Conor McGregor, who reportedly lost a $100,000 bet on the game. White is expected to have an opportunity for his own production team to redeem itself at the upcoming UFC Abu Dhabi MMA event.
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Source: huffpost.com
