UFC President and CEO Dana White recently shared his hilarious and nerve-wracking experience doing stand-up comedy on Steph McMahon’s new podcast, “What’s Your Story? With Steph McMahon.”
White, known for his willingness to take on challenging experiences, revealed that stand-up comedy ranks as one of the most terrifying things he’s ever done—even more intimidating than riding a bull or swimming with sharks.
“We do a show called ‘Looking for a Fight,’ and we try to go into these cities, take in what the city has to offer,” White explained. “We always try to do stuff to put us out of our comfort zone. We rode a PBR bull. I rode a bull. One of the dumbest things I’ve ever done.”
Despite his fearless reputation, White admits comedy is different:
“I’d do both of them again before I do stand-up comedy. I swear to God.”
His comedy journey began at a Los Angeles comedy club where the turnout surprised him.
“When we pulled up to the comedy place, there was a line down the street to get in,” White recalled. “I don’t even know how to explain to you how I felt before we went up on stage. I was dying.”
The experience gave him newfound respect for comedians:
“Once I got through that experience, I was like, I have so much respect for stand-up comics, especially the ones who suck or bomb and are trying to make it as a comic. To go in and do that night after night after night is absolutely brutal. I’m like, I will never, ever do this again.”
However, when Tom Brady invited him to participate in his roast, White couldn’t refuse.
“How am I going to say no to Brady?” he said.
To prepare for the high-pressure performance, White enlisted help from comedy heavyweights.
“I had Bill Burr and Tony Hinchcliff. I was very lucky,” he shared.
On the morning of the roast, White was concerned about bombing in front of the Los Angeles audience.
“I’m in LA doing this Tom Brady roast. What happens if I start bombing?” he recalled thinking.
His solution was to call Bill Burr for advice.
“I call Bill Burr and I say, ‘Hey, I’m sitting here thinking I’m in LA doing this Tom Brady roast. What happens if I start bombing?’ Literally, I s*it you not, off the top of his head, he says, ‘Hey, what? My name is Dana. Is that not trans enough for you, liberal f*cks?’ And I said, ‘I’m opening with that.'”
Professional comics advised against using the joke, which only made White more determined to use it.
“All the comics that are mentoring you, they’re like, ‘Don’t do this. This is not a good idea.’ And the fact that that’s the way they felt about it made me want to do it,” he admitted.
The roast experience was physically taxing for White:
“When we got done and I left, my body was messed up for like three days. There was something wrong with me physically after that.”
Despite surviving the experience, White was clear about his future in comedy:
“Never, ever. You’ll never see me do it again.”
White’s comedy adventure represents his broader philosophy of constantly pushing boundaries and facing new challenges—though in this case, he discovered something he definitely doesn’t want to do again.
And while Dana performed well, the focus was mainly on the jokes about Brady’s ex wife – GIselle Bunchen.
Strickland was even unexpectedly asked about his thoughts on Tom Brady’s reaction to jokes made on his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen during a Netflix roast. Never one to mince words, Strickland launched into a scathing critique of the former NFL star.
Strickland didn’t hold back, expressing his disdain for Brady’s response to the roast. He said bluntly: “Tom Brady is a c—, he got mad, don’t talk about my wife, now listen you f—ing p—y, you signed up to get made fun of and you can’t f—ing do it…he handled that like a f—ing woman, you act like f—ing girl, pet f—-ing goats, pose for g– f–ing photos, man the f— up.”
