“What Worse Thing Can Happen to You…”: Amid His Own Pay Issues, Stephen Thompson Mocks Dana White’s $100,000,000 Worth Venture

Dana White, the current President of the UFC, has been credited with the monumental and steady rise of the UFC. The promotion initially hit many roadblocks. But White’s business acumen has now grown it to one of the biggest companies in the sporting world. The mixed martial arts promotion now generates millions of views per event, putting the net worth of the company at somewhere around 12 billion dollars.

White had taken over the initially struggling company when its net worth was 2 million. As the world remembers his excellent business record, Dana White has now been promoting another controversial promotion called Power Slap. The company which according to White is worth more than 100 million dollars, is owned by the UFC and promotes the highly criticized sport of slap fighting. In a recent interview with Nina Marie Daniele, Stephen Thompson had some thoughts of his own on the promotion.

Stephen Thompson ridicules Dana White venture

The fun interview saw Daniele, popularly known as Nina Drama chat with ‘Wonderboy’ about a wide range of topics. Right before signing off, the model and interviewer asked Stephen Thompson, “What do you think of Power Slap?“. Interestingly, ‘Wonderboy’ had mixed opinions about the widely debated activity. Initially, he stated, “Oh my gosh, I think as a fan it’s awesome“. However, he was quick to curb his apparent enthusiasm about the sport. He immediately followed up and clarified, “But as an athlete, definitely would never do it.” Notably, Stephen Thompson had a dispute with Dana White prior to this, regarding his payment after his opponent for the fight failed to make weight.

After being forced to pull out, ‘Wonderboy’ who was expecting a significant part of his fight purse for honoring his contract, was shot down by Dana White. Speaking on the issue, White said, “If you decide you don’t wanna take the fight, we also offer them another fight. You just don’t show up and say, ‘Yeah, I’m not gonna fight. I want a quarter of a million dollars’. That’s not how the way it works”.

Daniele jokingly questioned, “So you’d never challenge anyone to a Power Slap match?“. While he did apparently appreciate Power Slap as a fan, ‘Wonderboy’ set straight his apprehensions about the sport in his next few comments. He continued, “Never. Never. Are you kidding me? You can’t block. Right? You have to stand there and take it and what? As a man, what worse thing can happen to you than get slapped in the face by another man“. Citing the prospect as one of the worst things that can happen, the Welterweight explained why he felt so.

Other fighters lash out against Power Slap

Dana White is no stranger to controversy. He has also previously expressed that the opposition comes from his involvement with it and not the sport itself. He equates the apprehension Power Slap faces now, to a rough patch that the UFC went through during its early days. However, it is this very thought that critics and viewers have been opposing. Stephen Thompson is only one, in a long list of UFC fighters who have criticized Dana White.

Read More: Despite Claiming Big Numbers, Dana White’s Power Slap League Gets a Blunt Reality Check From Ex-UFC Heavyweight Star – “It’s Cool to See for 15 Seconds”

UFC Legends like Khabib Nurmagomedov have criticized the sport on the grounds that slapping someone is considered disrespectful. Fighters like Derrick Lewis have made comments on the ‘professionalism’ of the sport. Meanwhile, veterans like Dan Hardy and Brendan Schaub feel that Dana White’s involvement with Power Slap tarnishes the UFC’s reputation.

After a questionable pilot season, the show seems to be picking up in numbers. Dana White even looks forward to a PPV event. How the event will fare will be decided solely by how fans choose to approach it. What side of the argument are you on? Do you think Dana White may have gotten this one wrong? Or will he pull off what he achieved with the UFC, yet another time? Stay tuned for more.

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