Dana White’s $250K Birthday Gift To YouTuber Backfires, UFC Fighters React
Dana White gave $250,000 as a birthday gift and UFC fighters were not happy about it.
White gave Kyle Forgeard, of the Nelk Boys, the loaded present earlier this week for his birthday. Fighters like UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling and others expressed how they felt.
Sterling’s statement comes after he stated his desire to receive higher compensation in front of a prospective championship defense against TJ Dillashaw. White has not yet complied with Sterling’s requests.
One of the fighters is the bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, who tweeted: “Dope! My birthday is July 31st! Can’t wait to see what Dana gets me! @danawhite”
.Dope! My birthday is July 31st! Can’t wait to see what Dana gets me! @danawhite
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) July 12, 2022
Francis Ngannou, the heavyweight champion, and welterweight Jorge Masvidal have recently iterated on fighter compensation in the UFC.
White has clarified that the UFC is a business and that paying his roster a noticeably larger sum may be detrimental to the organization’s economic health.
But White didn’t object to giving Forgeard a large sum of money, which sparked a lot of ire on social media.
In recent months, White has also been the focus of YouTuber-turned-boxer, Jake Paul. On social media, Paul criticized White and claimed that he gave his boxers inadequate money rewards.
White has not yet responded to his recent public criticism.