When Dana White sat down with Nina Drama for an interview, the UFC president didn’t hold back his thoughts on ayahuasca. It is the psychedelic brew that has become increasingly popular among combat sports athletes.
The conversation shifted to the topic after the interviewer mentioned that heavyweight boxer Deontay Wilder had experimented with the plant medicine. White’s response suggested he had been paying close attention to this trend within the athletic community.
“I know a ton of guys that have done ayahuasca, and they’re never the same after that,” White said.
When pressed to elaborate on what changes he had observed, the longtime UFC boss explained that these athletes appeared to become more loving or affectionate following their experiences.
The interview then turned personal when Nina Drama asked whether White himself would consider trying ayahuasca.
His answer left no room for ambiguity: “Not in a million years.”
White’s observations align with several high-profile cases of combat sports athletes who have publicly discussed their experiences with the traditional Amazonian brew. Among them is former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, whose career took an unexpected turn after a devastating loss to Joseph Parker.
The defeat cost him an estimated $100 million and prompted widespread speculation about his future in boxing.
When asked after the Parker bout whether he still had the hunger to continue competing, Wilder revealed a significant shift in his mindset. “I don’t know, a lot has calmed down. I’ve done ayahuasca, I found a lot of peace in my life. I’ve found lots of happiness in my life. I’ve been wearing this smile all week long and I’m still going to wear it,” the former champion shared.
The timing of his comments, coming immediately after such a lopsided defeat where Parker dominated every round, raised questions among fans about whether the experience had diminished Wilder’s competitive edge.
Many wondered if the newfound tranquility signaled the end of his time in the ring.
Wilder later addressed these concerns directly through an Instagram video, where he acknowledged his disappointing performance and apologized to supporters. However, he firmly stated, “This is not the end, we’ll be back,” putting retirement speculation to rest for the moment.
Perhaps the most detailed account of ayahuasca’s effects on an elite athlete comes from UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre. During an appearance on the Area52 podcast, the former welterweight and middleweight champion described an experience that fundamentally altered his perception of reality.
“During Covid, after I retired, I decided to go on a journey. I decided to do ayahuasca,” St-Pierre explained. “I never take [ ]. I never snort coke or did anything else. I’ve tried weed before but it’s not really my thing, it makes me paranoid.”
Despite his initial reservations, St-Pierre recounted a vivid out-of-body experience. “I start leaving my body. I start levitating and going up like this looking down. I’m seeing myself,” he said.
The Canadian legend described encountering an entity that communicated with him telepathically.
“It was communicating with me, and it says ‘I’m you and everybody at the same time. I’m the air you breathe and the water you drink,'” St-Pierre recalled. This presence apparently revealed insights about consciousness itself, showing him visions of planets, solar systems, galaxies, and different dimensions.
Among the most remarkable claims St-Pierre made was that the experience completely eliminated his severe fear of heights. “I used to be scared of height like crazy,” he explained. “I’ve done stuff in my life that require me to step over my fear to challenge my fear, like skydiving, but I was always terrified of height.”
Following his ayahuasca journey, that fear vanished. “Now I know since my experience, I don’t have that feeling anymore. I swear it’s true,” he said, describing it as personal confirmation that what he experienced was real.
The former champion also noted changes in his personality. “It made me more empathetic, more in touch with other people,” St-Pierre said. “I’m by no means perfect, I have a lot of issues and I need to work on myself a lot, but I’m a little bit better than I used to be.”
Importantly, St-Pierre emphasized that he wasn’t encouraging others to follow his path. “I don’t encourage people to do it because it’s a [ ], and I did it once and I don’t have the desire to do it again because I love my brain and I don’t want to damage it. But I’m happy I done it, I’m very happy I’ve done it because it’s an experience that changed my life.”
Another UFC figure who has spoken about psychedelic experiences is Conor McGregor, though his choice was ibogaine rather than ayahuasca. The former lightweight champion underwent the treatment in Tijuana, Mexico, where the compound remains legal.
Ibogaine is derived from the iboga tree root bark and is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States.
McGregor described his experience on social media as “incredible, intense, and absolutely eye-opening.” He claimed to have received visions about his mortality and its potential impact on his children, describing an out-of-body perspective where he observed himself and later looked out from a coffin before encountering what he interpreted as a divine presence.
