A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. And that is nowhere truer than watching Dana White’s face drop after he saw the scorecards and found out that Magomed Ankalaev had beaten Alex Pereira in their UFC 313 title clash. Although he likes to gamble, it seems the UFC CEO doesn’t have a very good poker face.

To the point that everyone, including former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker on the ‘MMArcade’ podcast, noticed the change in the head honcho’s demeanor after learning his golden goose had lost. “Did you notice, by the way, as they were about to announce the winner and then Dana read the card and clearly from that moment I knew that Ankalaev has won. He just didn’t look happy,” Whittaker’s co-host Jonny Roses asked.

“I try not to look too much into it. I’ve seen that happen before. Dana being filthy. But I try not to look into it too much because sometimes it doesn’t go the way you think it is, you know. Granted it’s 30 seconds before the announcement,” ‘The Reaper’ said.

In fact, White was not only upset at seeing the scorecards before the decision was announced but also looked visibly surly putting the belt around Ankalaev’s waist. As Whittaker pointed out, White does tend to carry his heart on his sleeve and looked similarly surly when Belal Muhammad won the welterweight title at UFC 304 last year.

The UFC CEO had claimed that he was just tired because of the late timings of the Manchester, England card, and wasn’t actually upset at ‘Bully B’s dominant victory over Leon Edwards. While it may not be the most professional way to carry oneself as a promoter, it is understandable why the head honcho was so upset at ‘Poatan’s loss.

Alex Pereira, after all, is the biggest active star in the promotion at the moment. One of their biggest PPV sellers, the Brazilian defended his 205lbs title thrice in 175 days, saving a couple of UFC cards by doing so. Moreover, ‘Poatan’ losing the title has closed the door to a possible Alex Periera vs. Jon Jones super-fight, which would have been one of the biggest clashes in the history of the sport. However, it seems Whittaker and his co-host’s eyes were lying to them, as the UFC CEO has claimed that he was not upset at Ankalaev’s win.

Dana White gives his verdict on Magomed Ankalaev beating Alex Pereira at UFC 313

The fight did not have nearly enough action as Dana White expected. “It was not what I expected. I expected a lot more shooting, I expected a lot more exchanges,” the UFC CEO told reporters at the post-UFC 313 presser. Indeed, both men kinda neutralized each other’s biggest threats.

Ankalaev constant forward pressure made ‘Poatan’ uncomfortable, which combined with the Dagestani’s takedown threat, made the Brazilian striker timid and hesitant to pull the trigger. On the other hand, Alex Pereira successfully stuffed each and every one of ‘Big Ank’s takedown attempts, although this meant spending long periods of time in a clinch against the cage, which went against ‘Poatan’.

Despite his visible disappointment in the Octagon, the UFC CEO did claim that he was expecting Ankalaev to win and wasn’t surprised when he found out the official decision. “I thought Ankalaev won the fight. I wasn’t shocked when I heard the decision,” he added. White also confirmed that an immediate rematch was “probably” next, and since both Ankalaev and Pereira are on board, it probably won’t be long before we see both men in the Octagon.

And hopefully, the UFC CEO practices his poker face beforehand in case ‘Poatan’ loses again. What do you think about Robert Whittaker’s take on Dana White getting visibly upset at Alex Pereira’s loss?