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SHANGHAI, CHINA – JUNE 20: Dana White, UFC President gives a speech during 2019 UFC Performance Institute Panel and UFC Fight Night Shenzhen Press Conference at UFC Performance Institute Shanghai on June 20, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Yifan Ding/Getty Images)
via Getty
SHANGHAI, CHINA – JUNE 20: Dana White, UFC President gives a speech during 2019 UFC Performance Institute Panel and UFC Fight Night Shenzhen Press Conference at UFC Performance Institute Shanghai on June 20, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Yifan Ding/Getty Images)
The UFC and Dana White have been trying to fight illegal streaming for a long time now. The UFC’s PPV events are streamed on ESPN and charge a premium for the same. Although hardcore fans watch the fight through the proper channels, some fans resort to illegal streams to watch the action.
While this does save the fans a lot of money, it hurts both the UFC and the fighters. The UFC loses out on revenue, as people prefer watching an illegal stream as compared to shelling out sums for a pay-per-view event. The fighters (who get a cut of the PPV revenues), especially the champions who put their blood, sweat, and tears into the sport end up making significantly less.
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Hence, Dana White has hardened his stance on illegal streamers over the past few months. Leading up to UFC 257, White was particularly aggressive in finding and stopping illegal streams. To a point where he said he was monitoring a potential illegal streamer’s house and if he streamed the fight, he would end up in jail.
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Dana White says the UFC will keep doing what they’re doing
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In the post-fight press conference after UFC 258, Dana White was asked if he caught any illegal streamers.
He said, “So, it’s interesting because you don’t know how into this I am. I am very, very into this. And not a lot of them were streaming tonight. We were going to go after one of the big ones tonight. And they did not stream tonight. So yeah, we’ll keep doing what we’re doing.”Dana White has stated that he has previously caught a few illegal streamers but never prosecuted them. The UFC President stated that the streamers act tough on the internet, but when caught, their whole demeanor changes.
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Though White has always been against streaming, he has adopted a very aggressive approach towards illegal streamers in recent times. White and the UFC will be hoping to catch as many as possible so that both the UFC and the fighters can benefit from more fans buying PPV’s.
What do you make of illegal streamers? Will Dana White be able to catch all of them? Let us know in the comments below!
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