Freedom of speech champion Dana White blasted the media on Saturday in regards to Sean Strickland’s rant earlier in the week which drew mainstream recognition. White proclaimed that it was the media’s fault for asking questions that would make Strickland give his unfettered racist, misogynist and xenophobic viewpoints.
The irony of White’s comments is that when Strickland came out to gloat over his hard-fought win, the UFC cut his microphone at a certain point and told him he was done. If you watch the video, it was clear that Strickland did not look like he was done, nor was he uncomfortable with questioning to a point where media relations would pull him. Rather, it was clear that Strickland’s schtick had worn thin and even though White chastised the media, this was the first time we have seen a video where they cut off Strickland.
While we don’t know the specifics of why they cut Strickland’s microphone, one might deduce that they wanted to curb some of the fighter’s comments. During the post-fight press conference, he went after Khamzat Chimaev. Prior to the microphone going off, he said Chimaev was a goatf*cker.
Strickland actually took another question when the microphone was cutoff. The question was whether he deserved to get the next title shot against Chimaev. He answered it without the microphone.
Payout Perspective:
Strickland has called out the UFC on its pay structure, but that didn’t seem to be the issue during the post-fight press conference. We note that the while the UFC has curbed its fighters on what they say. I invite those to go back to Justin Gaethje’s interviews during his fight week last month wherein he was critical about pay but later that week (after he talked to Dana we presume) he did not want to talk about it anymore. I think this time with Strickland, the UFC had enough with his banter. In my opinion, the Variety article this week highlighting Strickland’s comments about Bad Bunny may have caused a stir with people higher up the chain than Dana.
It is still wild that Dana’s initial response to Strickland’s rant was to blame the media. Clearly, the media in the room at UFC events are friends of the UFC and are there to facilitate questions. No one that gets a media credential asks controversial questions lest they get their credentials pulled. Just a cop out, but indicative of White who has made the UFC analogous with the White House. Strickland is a professional athlete and should have some responsibility to temper his comments. White likes it because it fits within his base and the UFC. If Strickland would be criticizing the Trump Administration or supported a liberal issue, he would likely be told not to say it out during a UFC press conference.
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