UFC boss Dana White recently gifted the Nelk Boys’ Kyle Foregeard $250,000 cash as a birthday present, and “The MMA Hour’s” Ariel Helwani thinks the whole interaction was “creepy.”
On July 11, Foregeard share a video on social media of himself opening a present from the UFC’s president while they sat at a table in a restaurant. “Uncle @danawhite just gave me $250,000 for my birthday..” Foregeard wrote in a tweet. And the video can be watched below:
Uncle @danawhite just gave me $250,000 for my birthday..
White and the Nelk Boys, a popular crew of YouTubers who are known for pulling pranks and partying, have built a relationship the past few years, with Foregeard and other members of the group frequently attending UFC events. White has also been featured on their “Full Send” podcast.
In December, the Nelk Boys’ “SteveWillDoIt” gifted White with a “$300,000 custom howler head Maybach van.”
White’s $250,000 present to Foregeard drew the ire of some in the MMA community as individuals questioned why the UFC’s president was giving cash out to friends instead of increasing fighter pay and post-career benefits.
Helwani Said White Was Allowed to Do Whatever He Wants With His Money, Doesn’t Begrudge Fighters for Feeling ‘A Certain Way’ About the UFC President’s Gift
Helwani spoke about White’s gift during Wednesday’s episode of “The MMA Hour.” And in terms of White shelling out $250,000, Helwani believes White can do whatever he wants with his cash.
“Obviously, the optics are weird,” Helwani said. “I do believe this man is allowed to do whatever he wants. This man is allowed to pay for whatever he wants. He’s a successful man, he has earned his money. It was not handed to him.
“He fought tooth and nail. Don’t mistake for a second: Dana White has put in the time.”
“My thoughts on him as a current promoter now and just kind of like phoning it in, mailing it in — I still can’t believe he didn’t go to [UFC] 276 — are irrelevant,” Helwani continued.”He has earned every penny. And he can do whatever he wants. He can buy eight houses, he can buy snow here, he can buy cars, he can buy helicopters. So, it’s all well and good.”
Helwani Called White’s Gift Giving ‘Weird’ & ‘Creepy’
Helwani said that he could understand how a fighter may “feel a certain way” about White’s present to Foregeard. But, he pointed out that White gave his own money to the Nelk Boys leader, not the UFC’s.
“At least we don’t think so,” Helwani continued, mentioning that the promotion is “supporting” the group’s new “Full Send MMA” media outlet, but it’s unclear to what capacity.
“The optics are just weird,” Helwani said. “First of all, I can assure you this, when I’m 50-something years old, I ain’t going to be hanging out with no frat boys. And I ain’t paying them $250,000 for their birthday.
“Is it wrong if I say that was just creepy?” Helwani asked his producer Conner Burks. “Is that wrong? Is that too harsh?
“No, I feel like that’s pretty accurate,” Burks replied. “It was an odd thing to do.”
“Like, if I give my son a new PlayStation and I’m excited to give it to him, and I’m waiting there, waiting for him to open it up on his birthday, that’s how I would like,” Helwani said, comparing himself to how White looked in the video. “Right? That was the look.”
“I’m sorry, that is weird behavior,” he continued. “Friends, no friends, 25 years older, whatever. I barely want to hang out with people who are 35 let alone 25. What the heck?”
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UFC President Dana White Called Out for ‘Creepy’ Interaction