Dana White responds after UFC broke tradition minutes before Conor McGregor fight
Dana White has explained how UFC came to break tradition in a spur of the moment decision at UFC 329.
In their first major pay-per-view event since UFC Freedom 250 at the White House, the MMA promotion staged a stack card headlined by the returning Conor McGregor at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In his first bout for five years, McGregor had to retire just one round into his rematch with Max Holloway after suffering a serious knee injury in a roundhouse kick attempt.
The disappointing circumstances of which the eagerly anticipated main event finished came after Brit Paddy Pimblett got back on track with a sensational submission win over Benoit Saint-Denis.
Advert
UFC made a rogue change near the end of the card as for the first time ever, they had a guest ring girl.
WNBA star Sophie Cunningham, who plays for the Indiana Fever, was in the crowd for the event in Sin City.
But then, out of nowhere, she was then seen holding up the sign to display the number of each round and show the fans in attendance.
UFC do not typically have celebrities as ring girls - though many have later become famous and successful following on from the role.
They made an exception with Cunningham, who did not wear traditional ring girl attire and wore an all black outfit.
She also removed her shoes to perform the lap around the Octagon and only held up the sign for round one after Pimblett finished Saint-Denis in devastating fashion.
Cunningham then sat down with the rest of the UFC ring girls.
Asked when the decision was made to give Cunningham her debut as a ring girl, White told reporters: "About eight minutes before she did it. I love Sophie Cunningham, we created a relationship and she was here tonight. When she walks in, she goes, 'I want to walk around that'.
"I said, 'Then you're going to walk around it!' She's fun."
Cunningham, who has two million followers on Instagram, returned to the Octagon barefoot after the early McGregor-Holloway stoppage and performed her signature finger pointing pose for a photo with 'Blessed'.
Dana White unloads on production team for major error on UFC 329 broadcast
Plenty of stars were in attendance at UFC 329 but UFC chief White was furious with his team for the error they made when the camera focused on boxer Shakur Stevenson in the front row.
Stevenson has just signed a multi-fight deal with White's Zuffa boxing and his appearance at UFC 329 was a huge promotional tactic.
However, White was livid after the graphic which flashed up said he was Jalen Williams, an NBA player with the Oklahoma Thunder.
Speaking in his post-show presser, White fumed: |I just paid Shakur Stevenson a s**tload of money, and for some reason we can't figure this celebrity sh*t out. They put him up as a f*cking OKC NBA player. Are you f*cking kidding me?
"It's absolutely crazy but we are the absolute worst to ever do the celebrity thing."
Topics: Dana White, UFC, Conor McGregor
Josh Lawless