Getty UFC President Dana White is seen during UFC 261.
UFC president Dana White fired back at critics of his extravagant gift to the Nelk Boys.
About two weeks ago, White was seen presenting a generous gift for the birthday of his friend and Nelk Boys member Kyle Forgeard, in a video uploaded by Forgeard on his social media accounts. Forgeard showed off the plastic bag loaded with wads of cash amounting to $250,000 he received.
The post drew the ire of many members of the community, including numerous current and former fighters and media fellows. Amidst calls for improved fighter pay, a topic that has picked up momentum in recent times, the present was considered a bit too lavish.
In an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” White defended his surprise gift and attacked the people on the internet for interfering in his matters.
“Let me set this record straight: First of all, all these people on the internet, go f*** yourself,” White said. “I spend my money however the f*** I want to spend my money. Mind your own f****** business, No. 1.
“No. 2, if you look at what Kyle and the Nelk Boys have done as far as Howler Head and a lot of other things that they’ve done, those kids have never asked me for anything, ever.
“Never asked me for anything, and they couldn’t be better people; Kyle has done so many things for me, and believe me, the $250,000 that I have him for his birthday does not cover the amount of things that that kid has done for me.
“So don’t count other people’s money, and mind your own f****** business.” (h/t /MMA Fighting)
White Blames the MMA Media
White argued that the MMA media was to blame for the unfair disapproval when it comes to the issue of fighter pay.
“A lot of this is driven by the scumbag MMA media,” White said.
“So what happens is, they act like there’s this massive safe here at the UFC offices that says, ‘Fighter pay’ on it, and I just go in there and grab whatever I want out of the fighter pay.
“No, you f****** pieces of s***, this is money that I actually have made over an entire career, and I will spend it however the f*** I want.”
White Claims That It’s the Secrecy That Draws Criticism
While there was a time when the UFC had to disclose the fighter payouts for their events, that is no longer true for the most part as regulations changed over the years.
White is known for handing out bonuses behind the scenes making it even tougher to estimate how much a fighter actually takes home. The head honcho believes that it’s the company’s tight control of information that draws such criticism and that it would be bad for the sport if it was public knowledge.
“What drives them crazy is, they don’t know [about our business],” he said. “They don’t like the fact that they don’t know.
“They want to know f****** everything, like all these other sports, you find out – we’re already hearing what’s going on with the negotiations with the Boston Celtics and possibly [Kevin] Durant. I don’t tell these f****** people anything, ever.
“You know what they know? What I tell them, and I tell them nothing, because I can’t stand them, and I don’t trust them.”