Former UFC heavyweight and popular podcast host Brendan Schaub has offered his perspective on why UFC CEO Dana White strongly condemned Bryce Mitchell’s recent controversial comments about Adolf Hitler.
For those unaware, Schaub is the best accidental comedian in the space having previously asked UFC veteran Tim Kennedy if he caught Hitler in addition to asking Michael Chandler if his adopted children are from Africa.
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According to Schaub, White’s swift response may have been influenced by the UFC’s ownership structure, specifically noting that the company is owned by a Jewish businessman through Endeavor.
“The UFC is owned by a Jewish man. So, I think he would have come out more swiftly,” Schaub said during a recent podcast episode. “He definitely needs to address it because this kind of took the world by storm.”
Schaub suggested that while freedom of speech is supported within the organization, business considerations played a role in the response. He compared it to how other controversial statements in the past have been handled differently.
“This isn’t new, guys. There’s been some horrible s*it said from all the years in fighting. And he’s never really mentioned it,” Schaub explained. “The reason he mentioned it this time, you know, the UFC is owned by a Jewish man. So, it’s good for business.”
He also noted that the UFC’s reaction to Mitchell’s comments was unprecedented in its severity. “They’ve never thought about cutting a guy over words. But when you bring up Jews, now you got their attention for a variety of reasons,” Schaub said.
However, Schaub was careful to clarify that he wasn’t suggesting White’s response was solely based on ownership concerns: “I’m not just saying Dana did it just because his boss is Jewish. But when the guy that owns your company is Jewish and you’re going after them, you’re going to issue an apology.”
UFC President Dana White has addressed recent speculation surrounding his response to Bryce Mitchell’s controversial comments, firmly denying that his statement was prepared by public relations staff.
Speaking candidly about the situation, White explained his approach to handling sensitive matters within the organization.
“A lot of the things that I do are by, I would guess I would just say gut and how I think we should handle it,” White said. “It’s not like, um, again, my head of PR, she’s brilliant and I respect her very much, but it’s not like the other night when we, um, I found out what Bryce Mitchell had said.”
White revealed that rather than consulting with legal teams, he took a direct approach to addressing Mitchell’s comments about Hitler. “I got on Google and I started looking up World War II and remind Bryce Mitchell on what a piece of s*it Hitler was,” White stated. “And why he’s not a good guy and why you wouldn’t want to go fishing with him.”
Responding to accusations that he had read from a prepared statement, White was emphatic in his denial: “I don’t ever read canned statements. Nobody writes anything for me and lawyers are never involved when I go out and speak.”
The UFC president acknowledged that he had written down World War II statistics to ensure accuracy but maintained that all opinions expressed were entirely his own.
“Everything is exactly how I feel about it. Whether you like it or not. I don’t care if you like it. I don’t care if you don’t like it. This is my company and I’ll run it the way I want to,” White concluded.
