White Responds to Woodley’s Racism Claim

In a recent series of interviews, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley claimed he has been the "worst treated champion" in UFC history, specifically mentioning the treatment he gets from some fans, and the treatment and promotion of African-American fighters such as himself and Jon Jones.

In a recent radio interview with ESPN (via FOX Sports), UFC President Dana White stated that while Woodley may a problem with the fans, he believes Woodley is being treated fairly as a champion, and his race has nothing to do with anything Woodley is complaining about.

"The thing is with Tyron, he’s a smart guy, he’s a good looking kid, he’s explosive, he’s got knockout power but he’s a bit of a drama queen," White told ESPN. "The way that he’s talking about [being] treated, too and I think he means the fans, when a fight is made and Conor McGregor is a perfect example. Conor McGregor has that fight anybody, anywhere attitude but doesn’t just have the attitude, he lives it. I’ve stood in front of him [on] 10 days notice and his opponent falls out and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care. ‘Bring them all in, I’m better than everybody, I’m the man, I’m the guy.’

"If Tyron Woodley had that attitude, Tyron Woodley would be a massive star. But he does these things where he’ll say on Instagram where [the fans] know who’s next, who’s supposed to fight next, and he’ll go on social media and go ‘I’m not fighting him, I don’t want to fight him, I think I want to fight this guy’ and that’s not what people want to hear.  People don’t want to hear that.

"They’re not booing him cause he’s black. There’s tons of black guys fighting in the UFC. You know what I mean? It’s Tyron. If you look at the guy, he’s the perfect specimen, he’s the perfect athlete that you can get behind and promote until he shoots himself in the foot by doing that type of stuff."

Woodley defends his title against Stephen Thompson at UFC 209.