During the recent post-bout press conference, UFC President Dana White revealed an unexpected addition to his media toolkit: an AI assistant that helps him understand reporters’ questions.
The moment came after UFC 330’s main event between Islam Makhachev and Ian Machado Garry. When a reporter asked White about the tactical match, he appeared uncertain about what was said and asked for clarification. Rather than having the journalist repeat themselves, White turned to technology.
“Let me read, they have this thing like AI doing it for me now,” White said as he consulted the system. He then read back the transcribed question about Garry’s defensive performance and Makhachev’s strength advantage despite facing a larger opponent.
After hearing the AI-generated transcription, the journalist jokingly remarked, “When I hear it back, it sounds like a bad question.”
Despite the unusual start, White provided substantial analysis of the championship bout. He stated, “Not a bad question. This is my honest opinion on it. I felt like tonight was set up for the upset.”
He admitted he thought the conditions were ripe for an upset, given Makhachev’s pursuit of breaking Anderson Silva’s consecutive wins record and the significant size difference between the athletes.
He said, “I felt like the upset could happen tonight with so much on the line, all the records that Islam has and he’s going to break Anderson Silva’s record. There’s weight classes for a reason.”
White also praised Garry’s takedown defense against one of the sport’s elite grapplers, calling it impressive.
White noted, “Ian Gary is a big rangy strong guy who has great takedown defense. I mean, if you look at his takedown defense tonight against Islam, it was impressive.”
However, he expressed frustration with the Irish star’s approach in the final round. After spending the match damaging Makhachev’s body and face, Garry opened the fifth round by touching gloves and showing respect rather than pressing for a finish.
“You don’t come out and hug and shake hands in the fifth round,” White said. “That drives me crazy when there’s so much at stake.”
White suggested Garry should have come out aggressively, perhaps with a flying knee, to try ending the match. He predicted this would be a bout Garry revisits with regret.
White noted that entering the final round, Garry appeared to be the fresher athlete, making his conservative approach even more puzzling.
He stated, “If he came out and tried to destroy and win that last round you know with everything that he had I think it’s a totally different match.”
While critical of Garry’s tactics, White credited Makhachev for performing a disciplined game plan against a larger, rangy opponent with strong takedown defense.
