UFC CEO and President Dana White recently found himself in the middle of a controversy after the UFC used AI-generated video in one of its promotional materials. When podcast host David Senra brought up the backlash during their conversation, White’s response made it clear he had little patience for the criticism.
“Well, the response was I did a whole commercial in AI after that for the White House,” White said.
He then dismissed the outrage surrounding the technology, arguing that fans should focus more on the events than the production methods behind the scenes.
“But my response is why don’t you just shut the f**k up and watch the matches,” he said. “Do you care what we’re doing technology-wise? And what’s the difference between we were using green screens before that too, right?”
White also pushed back against the idea that AI removes jobs from the creative process, explaining that the UFC still employs people to create and manage the content.
“We still have to hire people to do this stuff,” he said. “I’m not downstairs doing the AI stuff. We have people that are doing it.”
At the same time, White acknowledged that AI remains an evolving technology with an uncertain long-term future, even as he embraces it.
“But it’s the future. It’s coming,” White said. “Is it going to be as big as everybody thinks? Is it going to last? I don’t know.”
White went on to frame the UFC’s use of AI as part of a philosophy the company has followed for years: adopt new technology early and figure out how to use it to grow the brand. To make that point, he referenced a promotional commercial created more than a decade ago for the UFC 194 fight between Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo.
“We did a commercial, I don’t know, over 10 years ago for the Conor McGregor-Jose Aldo match,” White said. “It was incredible. It was on the strip, and they end up meeting out in front of MGM and all these Brazilians and all.”
He explained that even back then, the UFC was already relying heavily on visual effects and production tricks to create larger-than-life promotional content.
“Do they think that we really had all those people out there and that we really did that? No,” White said. “That isn’t the way it worked. And that was way before AI.”
For White, AI is simply the latest tool in a long line of technological shifts the company has embraced over the years.
“Whatever the new technology is, we’re on it,” he said.
