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UFC CEO Dana White is reacting to the backlash he’s been receiving after the UFC signed a massive deal with Bud Light.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Anheuser-Busch had inked a multi-year deal worth over $100 million to make Bud Light the official beer of the UFC.
After the deal, White went on Fox News to say that despite the Dylan Mulvaney controversy surrounding the beer company, he felt his core values “aligned with” Anheuser-Busch.
“They were the first beer company that we really did business with. They were our first real big sponsor when we were getting started, and now we’re back with them,” White said. “I know all the controversy and everything else, but for myself, going into a long-term deal with another sponsor, I want to be with somebody that I’m actually aligned with.”
White has been called a sellout over the deal and faced backlash online. During Wednesday’s Power Slap postfight press conference, he addressed the critics of the Bud Light/UFC deal head-on and wanted to let everyone know that the deal wasn’t solely about money.
“When it comes to Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light, everybody talks about, oh, you did it for the money. Hey, dummies, all sponsorship deals are about money, so when you talk about being a sellout, I have multiple deals in front of me, so it’s not like Bud showed up, and they were the only option I had to get money.
“This was all about everybody on every side of this deal that were involved, other beer companies and everything else, absolutely positively know this was not about money for me. We were going to end up with money with no matter who we ended up with for Anheuser-Busch, it was about values, core values for me. I’m at a point in my life, and I’m at a point in my career where nothing is just about money anymore.”
White also fired back at the notion that he’s been given a script on what to say about Anheuser-Busch/Bud Light while praising the company’s track record for giving back to the community.
“I saw some f—ing a–hole today saying it sounds like they wrote a script on what to say. Nobody writes me a script. Nobody tells me what to say, ever…If you look at every quote that I put out, every quote is me. Everything that’s posted on social media is me, and everything that comes out of this mouth is me. Nobody tells me what to say, nobody tells what to do, ever.’
“Everything I said about Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light is absolutely true, I am a big military and law enforcement guy. They have this folds of honor where they’ve spent $44 million over the last however many years. Fallen first responders and military people, their families get taken care of with this money, scholarships for their kids, that is right up my alley.”
“Almost $1 billion a year goes to U.S. farmers for their crops and their products. That is right up my alley. That’s exactly who I am.”
“65,000 Americans are employed by Anheuser-Busch, and thousands of them are vets, right up my alley.”
“I can go on and tell you why I’m more aligned with Anheuser-Busch than any other beer company.”
@jzosportsmma Dana White reacts to backlash over Bud Light/UFC deal #ufc #budlight #danawhite