A resurfaced video of Dana White has fans and media figures asking a question: why does the UFC CEO seem far more fired up about a minor celebrity boxing card than about his own promotion?
On a recent episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, Helwani and his co-host zeroed in on a clip of Dana White discussing Bob Menery’s match against Johnny Manziel at Adin Ross’s event in Miami.
The energy White brought to that clip stood in contrast to the more subdued, flat tone he has carried in recent UFC announcements, and it caught Helwani’s attention immediately.
“There’s more pizzazz, there’s more enthusiasm, there’s more fire about this video that I’ve seen regarding any Zuffa boxing or UFC event that I’ve seen in quite some time,” Helwani said.
In the clip in question, White spoke freely and without notes, recalling how Menery reached out to him ahead of the announcement. “Menery hits me up and says, ‘Who you betting on?’ I said, ‘I’m betting on you don’t even show up. That’s my bet. Menery never does anything he says he’s going to do.'”
That off-the-cuff delivery is exactly what Helwani says has been missing from White’s UFC-related media work. The contrast was hard to ignore.
Helwani pointed out that when it comes to UFC announcements, the tone shifts dramatically.
Helwani’s co-host stated, “When Arman Tsarukyan is back he’s going to be like, ‘Yeah, um, Arman he’s booked against BSD. That’ll be co-main. Um, main event, uh, Alex Pereira against XYZ.'”
The panel agreed the Bob Menery clip showed a version of Dana White that UFC fans have not seen in a long time. “That’s the old Dana White right there,” Helwani said. “He’s not reading any of that. That’s off the cuff.”
For those unfamiliar, Bob Menery is a voiceover personality known for narrating sports highlights with a raunchy, comedic spin. He appeared in the Road House remake and has longstanding ties to the Nelk Boys, a group that has had a close but complicated relationship with White over the years. White and Menery had a falling out at some point, which made the enthusiastic clip all the more notable.
“That was the first thing I was like why does he seem way more excited about this nothing of a match?” Helwani wondered.
