Dana White Turns a Blind Eye Towards a “Soft” and “Sensitive” Approach as UFC CEO Backtracks on Controversial Decision

In 2022, Dana White and the UFC banned all fighters from attempting to display the flags of their native country before and after the fight. However, the 54-year-old promoter has had a change of heart. White recently changed that rule. He now has no problems with fighters displaying their national flags.

The UFC’s roster consists of fighters hailing from several countries across all continents. As such, showcasing the flags as a way of representing their countries gives them a sense of pride. Hence, Dana White had to think about it and recently arrived at a decision due to an event that took place last month. Let’s check out what he had to say.

Mexican Independence Day changed the mindset of Dana White

The reporters during the post-fight press conference of UFC Vegas 80 mentioned that they saw many fighters displaying their national flags after fights. As such, Dana White quickly replied by assuring that the fighters are now allowed to do that. Furthermore, he credited the occasion of the Mexican Independence Day, which they commemorated with Noche UFC, changed his mind.

“Yeah, yeah, flags are back. I was on vacation during the Mexican Independence Day and the ‘no flag’ thing drove me crazy,” said Dana White. He claimed that the flag situation put him under a lot of stress, and as a result, he decided to bring it back. The UFC CEO added, “I was like, ‘Yeah, f*** that, we’re bringing flags back.’ It drove me crazy.”

The 54-year-old promoter mentioned that the UFC is a big promotion. As such, certain things become hard to supervise. Hence, he stated that there were no bad intentions when it came to the initial flag ban. White stated that the promotion made that decision only for the right reasons.

“There’s a lot of things that go on in a company this big. You can’t micromanage everything and sometimes things are done for the intentions of the right reasons and whatever,” the 54-year-old further stated. Moreover, he also assured that there will be no further bans on such acts in the future. And the UFC has moved on from that.

UFC CEO is over with the “no flags” situation

Dana White is not someone who cares too much about what people have to say about how he attends his business. He does it in his own way and at his own pace. White said, “Everybody in this room knows the way that I feel about a lot of things. ‘Basically, I don’t give a f***’ is the answer to most things.” Moreover, he also mentioned that there was a lot of backlash when the flag ban was initially announced in 2022- “Everybody’s too soft and everybody’s too sensitive about everything and when the decision was made to do this, I was like, ‘What’s the big deal if they don’t have [flags].”

However, the occasion of the Mexican Independence Day was a turning point for Dana White. The number of people who came to watch their fighters compete caused a change in his approach to the flag situation. Hence, now that the UFC allows the display of national flags, White does not care if people have a problem with it. “Mexican Independence Day flipped the switch for me and I was like, ‘That’s enough. I am done with the no flags.’ Flags are back [and] if any flags hurt your feelings, too f***ing bad,” said Dana White.

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The UFC putting an end to the unprecedented flag ban should be a relief for the fighters. Moreover, the UFC has a lot of events coming up in countries other than the United States. As such, it would be important for the fighters who’ll be competing in those events to represent their countries proudly. What do you make of Dana White’s statement? Let us know in the comments below.

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